MONTICELLO -- Westbound traffic on Interstate 94 between Monticello and Albertville has been shifted onto the Minnesota Department of Transportation's 3 1/2 mile pavement testing facility called MnROAD.

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The move is to study new pavements containing various recycled materials within the pavement to see how they hold up under heavy traffic and cold weather conditions.

Workers paved the MnROAD into 39 new sections in July, 20 with asphalt and 19 with concrete. Each section contains different materials like fibers and recycled plastic bottles.

MnROAD opened in 1994 and is used for testing new materials for researchers who work to improve roads, especially in colder climates.

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