Anyone wanting to view winter road conditions from the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s new plow cams will now have online access through 511mn.org.

MnDOT announced today that the agency’s 838 snowplows are equipped with cameras that show road conditions along plow routes in real-time.

“The plow cams are another way for travelers to make good decisions about their travel plans during the snow and ice season,” said Kelly Braunig, 511 program manager. “If they go on the 511 site and see that travel is not advised, they can actually see an image of the road the cameras take as the plow is traveling. Seeing is believing.”

The plow cams are available on the 511 website’s full-featured and streamlined pages and the 511 app.

To access the plow cams, go to www.511mn.org and click on “Plow Cameras” on the left menu. A window will open to show photos and a map where the plow is. Underneath the current photo and map is a “film strip,” showing images every five minutes. The camera will activate when the plow is going at least 10 miles per hour or based on other filtering criteria.

By — Haydee Clotter