Speed Cameras Coming Soon to I-35 in Minnesota

Minnesota's first automated speed cameras were installed last summer, and now more are set to be installed, but this time along a busy stretch of Interstate 35.

If you’ve got a lead foot behind the wheel, you’ll want to pay attention: The Land of 10,000 Lakes has given the green light to more speed cameras, and they're the first in the state to catch those drivers exceeding the speed limit in a construction zone along I-35.

There are just some things that other states have that we've never had here in Minnesota. Like tolls on highways and interstates (though the Minnesota Department of Transportation apparently DID once consider such a thing a few years ago.) Or those automated traffic cameras that catch you running a red light or speeding and take a picture, allowing the state to then mail you a ticket. Until last year, that is.

ALSO INTERESTING: The Fastest Speeding Ticket Ever Issued in Minnesota

Minnesota Never Had Speed Cameras Until 2025

Have you ever gotten a ticket from an automated camera? We once got a bill in the mail after we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge out in San Francisco. California took out the toll booths on that stretch of Highway 101 (to keep traffic flowing, I'm guessing) and now simply takes a picture of your license plate as you drive by and then mails you a bill that gives you a certain amount of time to pay online-- or they then mail you a ticket, too.

Thanks to a bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2024 (that would be Minnesota Statute 169.147 in case you're curious), a four-year speed camera pilot program was legalized in Mendota Heights, and I wrote a story about it when that lone camera went online last August. After that, the city of Minneapolis also installed speed cameras at five locations, which went online last fall, as well.

Get our free mobile app

New Speed Cameras Coming to I-35W in Minnesota

And now those speed camera pilot programs are expanding-- this time to road construction zones on a busy stretch of I-35W in Burnsville, and on Highway 65 in Braham. Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) says it will install those cameras later in late July as part of a pilot project to test speed cameras in work zones.

Here's the thing, though: Unlike those other speed camera pilot programs, if these cameras catch you speeding, you *won't* have to pay a fine. MnDOT says if you're caught going 10 mph or more over the work zone limit on camera, you'll instead receive a warning letter in the mail that will include a picture of your license plate and information about the dangers of speeding in work zones.

Minnesota Work Zone Speed Cameras Will Issue Warnings

And, MnDOT says they don’t have any plans to issue citations and fines as they work on this project over the next few years. The goal of the program is to encourage drivers to slow down in work zones-- where over 11,000 crashes have taken place in just the last five years. And more cameras are coming to future work zones in 2027 and 2028.