Rethinking I-94: MnDOT offers options for St. Paul, Minneapolis corridor

State planners and engineers continue to scope out possible ways to enhance traffic flow while helping to connect communities in and around the Interstate 94 (I-94) corridor. 

Rethinking I-94

The backstory:

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) held a virtual meeting on Friday to lay out viable alternatives for the future of the I-94 corridor.

The project started nearly 10 years ago, when planners and engineers began looking at ways to enhance traffic flow, while helping connect communities.

When the interstate was built in the 1960s, St. Paul's predominately Black Rondo neighborhood was split in half.

Many are now trying to address the harm done by reconnecting the neighborhoods on both sides of the freeway. 

Some of the proposed ideas have already been rejected by MnDOT, including plans to replace I-94 with a parkway or boulevard. 

However, the project is still at least five years away from even getting a layout for Minneapolis and St. Paul officials to be asked to sign off on a design.

What they're saying:

Project Manager for Rethinking I-94 Mark Lindenberg said during the virtual meeting that "We are in the scoping document stage, and it does not select the preferred alternative. It eliminates alternatives that don't meet our purpose and need, and it presents a reasonable range of alternatives that should move forward into the tier one EIS (Environmental Impact Statement). The tier one EIS process will select the roadway type and lane configuration. It will propose interchange or intersection modifications and identify pedestrian and bicycle improvement opportunities. This document will outline a program of projects setting the vision for the corridor and the necessary projects to achieve it."

One remaining option would allow for a land bridge over the interstate as a way to reconnect the community.

The plan would create a community space over I-94, with affordable housing, green space and a marketplace.

It's an idea that has a lot of support from many stakeholders, but it's also an idea that's getting pushback at the state capital.

The other side:

Senate republicans introduced a bill on Thursday that would block any plans of moving forward with a land bridge.

If approved, the law would not allow any lane reductions on I-94 and would also prohibit the commissioner of transportation from spending any money to study, analyze, promote, or review any plans for boulevard or land bridge design. 

The policy advisory committee is only in the process of laying out its viable alternatives and is a long way from a final design. It could take years before Minneapolis and St. Paul would be asked for municipal consent. 

The Source: The Minnesota Department of Transportation,

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