Street, Road and Highway Projects

[MNdible]

For my money, 252 and 55 south of the river should both be high priority items.

[amiller92]

Hiawatha and Olson Memorial through Minneapolis will be a violent fight.

'

Seems like change in the wrong direction for both.

[Sacrelicio]

Hiawatha and Olson Memorial through Minneapolis will be a violent fight.

'

Seems like change in the wrong direction for both.

I don't know about the Olson stretch since I rarely use it, but I think Hiawatha could be downgraded significantly through the city. It doesn't do much as a wide highway for drivers, and making it more of an urban boulevard would make the adjacent areas more appealing and might spur development. Just a thought, if anyone here with more expertise has thoughts about that feel free to shoot me down.

[froggie]

For the record, the study is also going to look at lower-cost, at-grade solutions for intersections along those routes. It's not looking purely at grade separation or interchanges, although it will prioritize which existing intersections should eventually be grade separated.

[Anondson]

Multiway boulevard on the list?

[jw138]

How far away is the removal of the last couple of lights on 62 at 494 in Eden Prairie?

[grant1simons2]

Probably couldn't happen any time soon. There's traffic coming from all directions in that area.

[alleycat]

I don't know about the Olson stretch

There's already exploration of a dedicated bikeway on one side of Olson in conjunction with Bottineau LRT. It's currently a very dangerous stretch for pedestrians and bicyclists. The North Minneapolis Bicycle Advocacy Council sent a letter to MNDOT this summer requesting that speeds are reduced to 25 mph.

There's tremendous development opportunity if frontage roads are redeveloped. The Harrison neighborhood needs to be tied back into the Northside.

[froggie]

Multiway boulevard on the list?

Wishful thinking.

How far away is the removal of the last couple of lights on 62 at 494 in Eden Prairie?

Likely decades, if ever. MnDOT considered it for when they widened 494 but decided against doing so due to cost and ROW impacts. Those metrics have not changed since then...

The North Minneapolis Bicycle Advocacy Council sent a letter to MNDOT this summer requesting that speeds are reduced to 25 mph.

Probably would've carried more weight had the letter come from the Minneapolis City Council or the mayor...

[Sacrelicio]

I don't know about the Olson stretch

There's already exploration of a dedicated bikeway on one side of Olson in conjunction with Bottineau LRT. It's currently a very dangerous stretch for pedestrians and bicyclists. The North Minneapolis Bicycle Advocacy Council sent a letter to MNDOT this summer requesting that speeds are reduced to 25 mph.

There's tremendous development opportunity if frontage roads are redeveloped. The Harrison neighborhood needs to be tied back into the Northside.

I'm all in favor, I just rarely get over there so I don't know the conditions very well.

[alleycat]

Probably would've carried more weight had the letter come from the Minneapolis City Council or the mayor...

Well, yeah. The mayor's office has already voiced a similar opinion within the last year. The mayor has been heard, but residents need to voice their opinion.

http://m.startribune.com/minneapolis-ca ... 294929401/

[mattaudio]

55 south of the river isn't going to happen. They just upgrade the Dodd/Lone Oak/Dodd triple-interchange-cluster last season. My guess is that Eagan wants a popup interchange at Argenta Trail. But beyond that, I don't expect to see changes on the non-freeway section of 55. It may even be more cost effective to redo the six main intersections on 110, and push Mpls-52 traffic that way.

[Didier]

Does anyone know what has been going on on the west side of 35W around 33rd Street? It looks like they're fracking or something.

[MNdible]

They are repairing the massive, deep underground storm sewers that service a big chunk of that part of town.

[froggie]

Another reason why 55 south of the river won't happen: it has fairly light volumes compared to other arterials in the Metro. I would expect far more priority to be placed on other highways.

[Mdcastle]

There's really three philosophies that could go into picking spots for new interchanges (on currently non-freeway routes).

1) Consistency and Continuous Controlled Access- you don't want interchange- intersection - interchange - intersection. Implementing a fully controlled access facilities has a safety benefit and reduce driver fatigue.

2) Bang for the Buck- Look at where the actual need is greatest in isolation- my article a while ago of the 10 busiest intersections, none of which are in locations where ROW would be especially problematic, would be a good place to start.

3) Local Support including finding popup funding.

Obviously, the best scenario is a combination of all three- say Brooklyn Park managed to get funding to help convert MN 252 into a freeway. MN 55 would fall into #1, Elk Run would be #1 and #3, County 17 and County 42 would be #3, MN 13 and County 5 as well as the Cannon Falls interchange would be #2 and #3.

[grant1simons2]

2nd St SE is planned for an overhaul. Bump outs, bike lanes, greening all mentioned.

[Mikey]

55 south of the river isn't going to happen. They just upgrade the Dodd/Lone Oak/Dodd triple-interchange-cluster last season. My guess is that Eagan wants a popup interchange at Argenta Trail. But beyond that, I don't expect to see changes on the non-freeway section of 55. It may even be more cost effective to redo the six main intersections on 110, and push Mpls-52 traffic that way.

THIS

Coupled with extending the MN 62 designation (or better yet, US 212... ) all the way to Robert St / US 52. Build interchanges at Delaware, Dodd, 35E / Lexington and Sibley Hwy, and throw in an overpass at Charlton. Mendota Rd can be re-purposed into a frontage road

[froggie]

A more direct freeway connection between Mendota Bridge and 52 would be a nice-to-have, but I'm not convinced that it's really necessary. Some number crunching:

- Busiest segment of 110 is 27.5K AADT (35E to Dodd). Busiest segment of 55 is 28.5K AADT (110 to 13).
- 52 to 110 is 2 miles longer than staying on 55.
- 6 traffic signals along 110. 8 signals along 55.
- Both routes have a number of private driveways, RIRO's, and single-access-points that would be problematic to upgrade. Along 55 they're focused between 149 and the 35E underpass. Along 110 they're mostly between Dodd Rd and South Robert.
- IMO the easiest interchanges to build would be along MN 55...specifically at 13 and Argenta Trl. An elongated interchange may also be possible along the 149/Dodd Rd concurrency, with MN 55 elevated and 149 and the ramps at-grade, but this would be more difficult to build, and also currently unnecessary given the recent widening. Interchanges along 110, while not impossible, would be more difficult overall due to tighter right-of-way and closer intersection spacing.

[froggie]

Back to 110, here's a theoretical freeway concept I've come up with, including full interchanges at Hwy 13, I-35E, Dodd Rd, and Delaware Ave, and a partial interchange just west of Lexington Ave. Mendota Rd ties into the northern frontage road. I've also included a continuous bike/ped path along the corridor.