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MnDOT to put out aerial photography markers

MARSHALL — “X” will mark the spot for an upcoming mapping project by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

MnDOT spokespeople are urging members of the public not to disturb markers placed in the right of way of a handful of southwest Minnesota highways this spring.

The X-shaped temporary targets will be used for taking aerial photos of roads including U.S. Highway 75 in Pipestone, Minnesota Highway 23 south of Granite Falls, and U.S. Highway 59 in Marshall, MnDOT said Friday. The aerial mapping will help the Department of Transportation record existing infrastructure and landscape along state highways, and plan for future road projects.

The aerial photography work has a narrow window of time in which it can be done, said Sandra Schlagel, public affairs coordinator for MnDOT District 8. The photos will need to be taken after the snow melts, but before trees leaf out. Weather permitting, the work will start in mid-April.

Part of the aerial mapping process includes putting down markers for the aerial photography company, MnDOT said. Crews will paint X-shaped temporary targets on paved surfaces, and use white plastic or fabric X’s on unpaved surfaces. Other markers people may see include drone targets, which are square with a pattern of black and white triangles. In addition to putting out temporary targets, survey crews will also record the coordinate position and elevation of each target.

Aerial mapping will be done in six areas in southwest Minnesota: on Highway 75 from Pipestone County Road 4 to Highway 30 in Pipestone; on Highway 22 at the MnDOT truck station in Glencoe; Highway 7/22 from Shady Ridge Road Northwest to Garden Road Northeast in Hutchinson; Highway 23 from Highway 274 to Highway 67 south of Granite Falls; Highway 23 from Canton Avenue to North 8th Street in Montevideo; and on Highway 59 from Highway 23 to Highway 19 in Marshall.

The public is being asked not to remove or disturb targets. MnDOT said landowners in the areas being mapped will be contacted if they will have targets placed on or near their property.

If a target must be moved, people are asked to contact the District 8 MnDOT office in Willmar, at 320-231-5195.

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