Here’s my column from the Sunday paper, with a couple of links to maps for your reading pleasure. (Either WordPress or Google wouldn’t let me actually embed the maps this time for unknown reasons.)

ARE SIX RAMPS ENOUGH? FEDERAL HIGHWAY OFFICIALS WILL DECIDE

If you can’t afford to build the perfect interchange, should you at least try to improve the one you have?

For one Minnesota bottleneck, state and local officials are answering yes, federal officials are saying not so fast, and drivers are left to await the outcome.

As hundreds of thousands of motorists are aware, the stoplights on Hwy. 169 at Interstate 494 can cause backups in numerous directions. The Minnesota Department of Transportation’s rebuilding plan has been in limbo for years because of a lack of funding. There’s now a cheaper version, but with a catch: Instead of the eight unfettered ramps found at a full interchange, there would be six.

Because relatively few eastbound 494 drivers head north on 169, and relatively few southbound 169 drivers head west on 494, ramps for those two “movements,” as engineers call them, wouldn’t be built right away, saving about $40 million. (Drivers wanting to go northeast or southwest tend to prefer Hwy. 212.)

Bloomington, Eden Prairie and Edina support the plan, as do at least two members of Congress and many drivers. But the Federal Highway Administration has final say because an interstate is involved, and at least a few citizens share the feds’ concerns about a less-than-full interchange.

“They need to fix this,” said one reader of this startribune.com story, “but how long will it be before they decide that they actually need the extra ramps that they are looking to take out [of the plan] now?” A less-diplomatic individual remarked: “Sounds like they want to try and cut corners again and come up with another loser design just like we have put up with here for decades.”

Not all freeway-to-freeway interchanges in the metro area let you go any direction you choose. Roadguy has heard from drivers who would love to be able to head south over the new 35W bridge and connect directly to 94 east. Instead, they have to exit and take city streets (map here).

On the other hand, some existing ramps don’t seem entirely useful. In Eagan, a ramp from eastbound Hwy. 13 to southbound Hwy. 77 means drivers can cross Diffley Road, make a nearly 180-degree turn and end up heading right back toward Diffley (map here).

As MnDOT makes its case for the modified 494/169 plan, workers have been out to count the traffic, says Wayne Norris, a metro district engineer. During peak hours, about 50 vehicles make the east-to-north movement. The comparable number for westbound-to-southbound is nearly 1,000, which is why the plan includes a flyover ramp for those folks.

Given the uncertainty, the project might not seem “shovel ready,” but the state is hoping to get the feds’ blessing so the interchange will be affordable enough to include in the state’s stimulus spending. If not, the brake lights will keep on glowing.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 5th, 2009 at 4:19 pm and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.