MnDOT renames winter road conditions using descriptive words

ST. PAUL - Travelers may have a better understanding of road conditions using the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s new winter road condition descriptions on the 511mn.org website and smartphone app.
The old winter road descriptions were “good,” “fair,” “difficult” and “hazardous/travel not advised.”
MnDOT said in a news release that the new descriptions are “normal,” “partially covered,” “completely covered,” “travel not advised” and “closed.”
The changes were made because the descriptions were subjective and the public didn’t always understand or look at the meanings listed on the 511 website, according to Kelly Braunig, 511 coordinator.
“We were getting a fair amount of complaints,” she said in the release. “An interpretation of good or fair might be completely different from person to person. We listened to our users and made improvements.”
The changes are part of Governor Dayton’s administration-wide effort to implement plain language when communicating with Minnesotans. Braunig also looked at what other states in the area used as descriptions for winter road conditions and adopted those from Iowa.
“We think the public will have a better understanding of the terms now,” Braunig said. “It’s easier to understand that roads are ‘partially covered’ rather than ‘fair,’ or ‘completely covered’ instead of ‘difficult.’ ”
More details of each road condition are available at http://hb.511mn.org/RoadConditions.htm .
“We encourage people to use other resources, such as radio, television and weather apps, to make decisions about traveling,” Braunig said. “We think the public will appreciate these improvements to our 511 system.”