Minnesota Notes

[Rothman]

What's happening with the dairy queen at Century when the interchange is built?

My guess, based on what few renderings I've been able to locate, is that the DQ will be bought out for the ROW.

Wonder if it will be relocated as part of the taking.

[M86]

https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/beltline-loop-project-proposed-to-ease-st-cloud-traffic/?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KSTP-TV&fbclid=IwY2xjawGAFdtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYkzao9tbGVJl9cFod33nojA1kk_rOJa2BI9ZfCzVc83cWT0N1NOtCHeVQ_aem__YARDC7Jwu5IaIIN1ME8Zw

A Saint Cloud beltline has been proposed. Looks like a good idea, but the first part studied was the southwest corridor—IMO where it's least needed.

Just curious, but where would you propose one? You have St. Joseph and Waite Park traffic going to the cities, so that makes sense.
I'm not overly familiar with St. Cloud itself, but drive by there frequently. It's the one city in Minnesota that will turn me around every time and I'll have to use navigation.

[Molandfreak]

https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/beltline-loop-project-proposed-to-ease-st-cloud-traffic/?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KSTP-TV&fbclid=IwY2xjawGAFdtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYkzao9tbGVJl9cFod33nojA1kk_rOJa2BI9ZfCzVc83cWT0N1NOtCHeVQ_aem__YARDC7Jwu5IaIIN1ME8Zw

A Saint Cloud beltline has been proposed. Looks like a good idea, but the first part studied was the southwest corridor—IMO where it's least needed.

Just curious, but where would you propose one? You have St. Joseph and Waite Park traffic going to the cities, so that makes sense.
I'm not overly familiar with St. Cloud itself, but drive by there frequently. It's the one city in Minnesota that will turn me around every time and I'll have to use navigation.

What I would like to see in the area is similar to the proposal by @froggie posted here. My initial thoughts were a cost-cutter version of this plan ending at US 10 since that is a free-flowing expressway up to the TH 23 interchange anyway. Honestly, I don't know if the DOT has explored options similar to this in lieu of the proposed connection at Clearwater-Clear Lake, but this idea would have much more local benefit.

[bschultzy]

MnDOT officially scrapped the Our Streets alternative that would have replaced I-94 between the Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns with a boulevard.

[Great Lakes Roads]

MnDOT officially scrapped the Our Streets alternative that would have replaced I-94 between the Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns with a boulevard.

GOOD! Those alternatives were dumb for this corridor that carries a lot of traffic.

[mgk920]

MnDOT officially scrapped the Our Streets alternative that would have replaced I-94 between the Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns with a boulevard.

GOOD! Those alternatives were dumb for this corridor that carries a lot of traffic.

Yea, four lanes each way.

Mike

[froggie]

MnDOT officially scrapped the Our Streets alternative that would have replaced I-94 between the Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns with a boulevard.

FWIW, per the Strib article MnDOT also dropped the alternatives that added lanes to the entire corridor.  There's an alternative that would provide a consistent 8 lanes (3 GP and 1 Ho/T in each direction) but that's the outer extent of what's being considered.

I expect MnDOT to face a lawsuit now for dropping the non-freeway alternatives.

Yea, four lanes each way.

Of the alternatives remaining, the only one that will get you 4 lanes each way is the one I explained above:  3 GP lanes and 1 Ho/T lane.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I can't find any national lists of these projects but MN's state senators announced at least two submitted projects were awarded federal funding under the Rural Surface Transportation Program:

-TH 5 four-lane expansion in Chanhassen and Victoria
-TH 19 reconstruction and center turn lane addition through Northfield west of TH 3

[Molandfreak]

I can't find any national lists of these projects but MN's state senators announced at least two submitted projects were awarded federal funding under the Rural Surface Transportation Program:

-TH 5 four-lane expansion in Chanhassen and Victoria
-TH 19 reconstruction and center turn lane addition through Northfield west of TH 3

No passing lane somewhere between Northfield and I-35? Lame.

[froggie]

-TH 5 four-lane expansion in Chanhassen and Victoria

Referring to this project, I'm presuming?

[Bickendan]

MnDOT officially scrapped the Our Streets alternative that would have replaced I-94 between the Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns with a boulevard.

GOOD! Those alternatives were dumb for this corridor that carries a lot of traffic.

I could see an argument that the freeway should never have been built, but removing it is insane. Putting a cap over it to mitigate its noise and pollution effects and 'reclaiming' land that way, however... (I'd be surprised if that's one of the Alternatives).

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MnDOT officially scrapped the Our Streets alternative that would have replaced I-94 between the Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns with a boulevard.

GOOD! Those alternatives were dumb for this corridor that carries a lot of traffic.

I could see an argument that the freeway should never have been built, but removing it is insane. Putting a cap over it to mitigate its noise and pollution effects and 'reclaiming' land that way, however... (I'd be surprised if that's one of the Alternatives).

The cap is pretty much the official position of the state at this point. Some extremist urbanists reject it, but they're not getting what they want.  Obviously different situations and a different era, but they can find examples of successful capping right in their own state.

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/st-pauls-rondo-neighborhood-reconstruction-projects-receives-additional-funds

[discochris]

What's happening with the dairy queen at Century when the interchange is built?

My guess, based on what few renderings I've been able to locate, is that the DQ will be bought out for the ROW.

Wonder if it will be relocated as part of the taking.

That DQ is OLD!  I grew up in Scandia, and when I was a kid in the 70's the closest Target was the one on 36 and McKnight, so we'd drive right by on a Target run. I remember when it had the 'King Hi' sign as well, whatever that was.  If I was good, we'd occasionally stop there. My dad had a good friend from his days working for MnDOT who lived kind of behind it as well, and we'd visit him sometimes too.

My son and I had to run to Woodbury last year and we went through the drive thru, which might be the single most difficult drive thru ever.

It'd be kind of sad to see that old DQ go.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

West metro police are using mounted AI cameras to look into cars in order to try to catch distracted drivers on TH 7. That makes me very uncomfortable especially as I do use that route fairly frequently.

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/kare11-sunrise/eye-in-the-sky-highway-7-safety-coalition-using-ai-and-cameras-to-crack-down-on-distracted-drivers/89-5c71e6a4-da42-44dc-8d73-1543fb01b8e4

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah, I don't like that at all.

[thspfc]

If you're worried, an interesting thought would be keeping your hands off your phone while driving. If you struggle to do that to the point where you get dinged by robot police, I have no sympathy. It's not like the AI errors will be charging people either. It will flag things, and then real humans will review the footage.

Unless this AI can track your eyes through the windshield from dozens of feet away, all it's looking for is phone users and non-seatbelt users behind the wheel.

What exactly is concerning about this? Is it just a general distrust of AI? Not saying this will definitely make a huge difference in safety, but I support the DOT trying new things, especially on a problematic road like MN-7.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

If you're worried, an interesting thought would be keeping your hands off your phone while driving.

My concern is always that the use will be expanded beyond its original purpose and turn into randomly targeting people for speculative investigations if they see something else in the car unrelated to phone usage they don't like. This isn't the first local pilot program for catching distracted drivers; I think Richfield and Edina started sharing a pickup truck equipped with a camera to make it easier to see down into people's laps. That concerns me more than trying to catch phone users.

[thspfc]

something else in the car unrelated to phone usage they don't like.

Like what?

[kphoger]

something else in the car unrelated to phone usage they don't like.

Like what?

Don't have a very active imagination, huh?  Laps.

make it easier to see down into people's laps

[thspfc]

something else in the car unrelated to phone usage they don't like.

Like what?

Don't have a very active imagination, huh?  Laps.

make it easier to see down into people's laps

. . . what will they do with that footage?

By the way I'm just asking questions. I don't know how my questioning can be interpreted as me not having an "active imagination", nor should any serious point rely on the reader having to imagine why it matters . . .

[froggie]

While tooling around on Google Maps this evening, I discovered two more county roads that are posted with 60 MPH speed limits:  Polk CSAH 11 east of Crookston to CSAH 46, then also on CSAH 46 between CSAH 11 and US 2.  Presumably, this is the result of the sporadically-signed "Truck Bypass" for US 2 around Crookston.  I say sporadic because it's not consistently signed and (per GMSV) eastbound is missing signage at the turn from CSAH 11 to CSAH 46.  That said, there is a unique dual-bannered "TRUCK BYPASS US 2" reassurance shield along eastbound CSAH 11 at CSAH 13.