Funding apparently found for I-494/US 169 interchange

[froggie]

According to the StarTribune, MnDOT has scraped together enough funding to finally build the long-awaited interchange project at I-494/US 169 in Bloomington and Edina.  This is the project that would build a freeway-to-freeway interchange at the junction, while also having ramps for local-access and eliminating the 3 traffic signals along US 169.  The plan is to let the project as a design/build, and as was proposed during the TIGER application, would be built with 6 freeway-freeway ramps instead of the normal 8....MnDOT's reasoning now, as then, being that traffic from SB 169 to WB 494 and EB 494 to NB 169 would likely be using 212 anyway to cut the corner and save travel time/distance.  But the design would accommodate their eventual construction in the future if needed.

According to information in the article and MnDOT's project sheet, the project schedule is to let the project this fall (proposals due Oct 1, contract awarded Nov 15), begin construction spring of next year, and have the project "largely complete" by the end of 2012, with some work lingering into 2013.

The latest layout proposal has some interesting changes to it.  The previously-planned roundabouts at the US 169/Valley View Rd interchange are gone, being replaced by a few select turn lane additions.  The local ramp/intersection junctions within the 494/169 interchange area are now all planned as roundabouts...6 in all.  The two loop ramps to remain (NB-to-WB and SB-to-EB) would begin their own auxiliary lanes once on I-494, presumably to facilitate traffic getting up to speed.  And the previous plan to separate the WB I-494 ramps to Prairie Center Dr and Flying Cloud Dr has been dropped.

Though I found the funding sources curious, and I'm not sure what other projects MnDOT pulled the FHWA funds from (or if they were planned for 494/169 all along), but I'm glad they finally got the money to build the interchange.  This junction is arguably one of the top 5 bottlenecks in the Twin Cities metro...definitely in the top 10.