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MnDOT: First 'Mumble Strip' To Be Installed In Southern Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Drivers will soon find a new safety feature on Highway 42 in southern Minnesota.

MnDOT announced Thursday that a sinusoidal centerline rumble strip, or "mumble strip," will be installed on the highway between the towns of Eyota and Plainview.

Most people are familiar with the rumble strips on the sides of rural highways. When driven over, they make vehicles vibrate and emit a buzzing sound.

The new mumble strips, on the other hand, make much less noise outside a vehicle while still alerting drivers that they're moving outside their lane of traffic.

MnDOT says crews are installing the mumble strips along the center of Highway 42 as part of a $5.9 million paving and culvert replacement project.

This will be the first mumble strip in the southern part of the state, MnDOT says.

The technology will be installed along the center of the Highway 42, while ordinary rumble strips will be outside the lanes.

MnDOT says its required rumble strips on the centerlines of undivided, high-speed rural roads since 2011, because the strips are cheap to implement and help prevent crashes.

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