ST. PAUL, MN – Today, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced four projects that have been awarded funding as a part of the Corridors of Commerce program. One of the selected projects will allow the first phase of construction improvement to the I-35W and 494 interchange. Over the past three years, Rep. Paul Rosenthal (DFL-Edina) has sponsored legislation to fix the notorious bottleneck, improve interstate capacity and reduce crashes.
“This is great news for Minnesota,” said Rep. Rosenthal. “Statewide users of one of the busiest interstate interchanges will now see much deserved and overdue congestion relief.”
In February, Rep. Rosenthal and a bipartisan group of legislators sent the Minnesota Department of Transportation a letter outlining the need for construction upgrades to the interchange, which has been ranked the 17th worst commute in the entire nation.
Twenty-one percent of metro area jobs are served by this interchange, which provides access to MSP International Airport and the Mall of America. Only minor design enhancements have occurred since its construction in the 1950s, while the increase in traffic and jobs in the area have skyrocketed.
The project which will add a directional ramp for northbound I-35W to westbound I-494 traffic is slated to begin over the next four years.
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