MnDOT Installs First-of-its-Kind Amish Buggy Warning Signs on Southeast MN Highway
Canton, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has installed a new warning system along a stretch of highway in Fillmore County.
See Also: MnDOT Scraps Intersection Warning System Due to Increase in Crashes
A news release says the system is designed to warn motorists when a horse-drawn Amish buggy is on the roadway.
Fillmore County is home to the largest Amish community in Minnesota, MnDOT says.
The county saw a fatal vehicle-buggy collision in 2023 that claimed the lives of two children and another crash involving a buggy last year on Fillmore County roads.
New Amish Buggy Warning Sings Installed Along Hwy. 44 Between Mabel and Canton
The new warning system has been put into place along Hwy. 44, east of its junction with the Hwy. 52 Amish Buggy Byway.
Buggy operators typically use the shoulder of highways in Fillmore County to avoid conflicts with vehicle traffic, however a stretch of Hwy. 44 between Mabel and Canton has a narrow shoulder due to a guardrail that forces buggies to enter the roadway, MnDOT says.
Crews have installed one sign in each direction along Hwy. 44. Each sign has a mounted light on top that will flash when buggy traffic is present.
The flashing light is triggered by a sensor that will detect buggies within 150 feet of the start of the guardrail.
MnDOT says the warning system is the first of its kind and that it’s similar to other systems put in place at rural intersections across Minnesota.
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