MnDOT delivers old-school call-out to Amish over 'Buggy Byway' repairs

Minnesota transportation officials are taking a little extra care to notify travelers of routine roadwork about to start on Highway 52 in southeast Minnesota.

Two of the state's Amish communities use that stretch of road regularly. That's prompted the Minnesota Department of Transportation to take more of an old-school approach, delivering letters to Amish homes rather than texts or email.

"The Amish don't use that kind of technology," MnDOT spokesman Mike Dougherty said. "We had to go back to good old conversation and shoe leather to get the word out to make sure that they're aware of it, as well as all the other folks that use the highway."

The work along part of the "Amish Buggy Byway" involves routine repaving, sewer and gutter work along 10 miles from the Iowa border to Harmony, Minnesota. According to MnDOT, the Amish byway runs on Highway 52 in Minnesota from its intersection with Highway 44 near Prosper to its intersection with Highway 16 east of Preston.

Minnesota is home to more than 3,500 Amish people in 15 settlements, including communities in Fillmore and Winona counties, according to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies

The Highway 52 road work starts May 19 and is expected to be complete by mid-June.

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