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[The High Plains Traveler]

If anyone cares about history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_U.S._Roads/Minnesota/All-time_list

I think the only one missing from Riner's log is 234, which was proposed, then disappeared, then reappeared as an extension of 64.

Anyone know what LR 314 is?

LR 314 was to be an access road to a proposed new Twin Cities airport on the north side of the Cities. The airport never came to be, nor did other proposed replacements for the current MSP airport, so the road never was established. LR 234 was the authorization to extend MN-64 north from MN-34 to what is now MN-200. Official maps for several years up until 1965 show the proposed route as MN-234, but when the road is shown as completed in 1966, it has the logical posted designation of MN-64. That segment is still LR-234.

[NE2]

I think the only one missing from Riner's log is 234, which was proposed, then disappeared, then reappeared as an extension of 64.

LR 234 was the authorization to extend MN-64 north from MN-34 to what is now MN-200. Official maps for several years up until 1965 show the proposed route as MN-234, but when the road is shown as completed in 1966, it has the logical posted designation of MN-64. That segment is still LR-234.

If original 252 is good enough for the log, so is 234. Just saying.

[The High Plains Traveler]

I think the only one missing from Riner's log is 234, which was proposed, then disappeared, then reappeared as an extension of 64.

LR 234 was the authorization to extend MN-64 north from MN-34 to what is now MN-200. Official maps for several years up until 1965 show the proposed route as MN-234, but when the road is shown as completed in 1966, it has the logical posted designation of MN-64. That segment is still LR-234.

If original 252 is good enough for the log, so is 234. Just saying.

LR designation is not necessarily the posted route number, as I'm sure you're aware. This isn't California where a concurrence is required. I know that LR 252 is the Austin bypass posted as U.S. 218 upon its completion, not to be confused with MN-252 (old U.S. 169) on the north side of the Cities. LR 234 is a discreet route segment while LR 252 is redundant because the route it supplanted was moved onto it.

[NE2]

The point is that several state maps labeled the proposed route as MN 234, not MN 64. MN 252 was similar, where it became I-90 and US 218 upon completion.

[froggie]

what's even sketchier is the green sign on the right.  since when does an interstate pull-through get local town streets added to it?

Not unheard of. http://goo.gl/maps/TVHnp

Just catching up, but I would not count this one based on the fact that this exit is the start of a C/D road and there is a secondary exit ramp off of that C/D road that goes to 11th Ave.  The access to I-94 West was not original...but was a later add-on in the 1990s in order to eliminate the old WB 94/SB 35W ramp weave on the SB 35W mainline within the commons area.

Anyone know what LR 314 is?

Looks to me like a proposed but never-built/designated route between MN 47 south of St Francis and US 61 near Forest Lake that was to serve the never-built Bethel Airport.

[TheHighwayMan394]

I-35 in Duluth will reopen on Wednesday.

[TheHighwayMan394]

Funding for the final 2 miles of MN 610's route (west from Hennepin County 81 to I-94) has been approved and selection of contractors along with groundbreaking will take place in Fall 2014 with a 2016 completion date.

[The High Plains Traveler]

Funding for the final 2 miles of MN 610's route (west from Hennepin County 81 to I-94) has been approved and selection of contractors along with groundbreaking will take place in Fall 2014 with a 2016 completion date.

So Mark Dayton reached into his pocket and found $120 million to complete the road after 25 years. This will compete the "North Crosstown" link, but one thing missing will be a flyover ramp to allow WB MN-610 traffic to go east on I-94. That will come later.

Whole story can be read here: http://www.startribune.com/local/north/237258561.html

[texaskdog]

Funding for the final 2 miles of MN 610's route (west from Hennepin County 81 to I-94) has been approved and selection of contractors along with groundbreaking will take place in Fall 2014 with a 2016 completion date.

So Mark Dayton reached into his pocket and found $120 million to complete the road after 25 years. This will compete the "North Crosstown" link, but one thing missing will be a flyover ramp to allow WB MN-610 traffic to go east on I-94. That will come later.

Whole story can be read here: http://www.startribune.com/local/north/237258561.html

when does MN have those? Usually they make them cloverleaf or double back

[texaskdog]

what's even sketchier is the green sign on the right.  since when does an interstate pull-through get local town streets added to it?

Not unheard of. http://goo.gl/maps/TVHnp

Just catching up, but I would not count this one based on the fact that this exit is the start of a C/D road and there is a secondary exit ramp off of that C/D road that goes to 11th Ave.  The access to I-94 West was not original...but was a later add-on in the 1990s in order to eliminate the old WB 94/SB 35W ramp weave on the SB 35W mainline within the commons area.

Anyone know what LR 314 is?

Looks to me like a proposed but never-built/designated route between MN 47 south of St Francis and US 61 near Forest Lake that was to serve the never-built Bethel Airport.

Maybe someone can draw it

[Mdcastle]

The talk of a "flyover" is typical media misreporting, there's 4 different layouts (the 1994/2002 and 2012 layouts with and without the county extension), and none of them include a flyover for that movement. In 1994/2002 it's a loop and in 2012 it's not there in any form.

[froggie]

Monte's right.  I've *NEVER* seen a flyover proposed for the WB 610 to EB 94 movement, nor would I see any need for it.

Looks to me like a proposed but never-built/designated route between MN 47 south of St Francis and US 61 near Forest Lake that was to serve the never-built Bethel Airport.

Maybe someone can draw it

Problem there is that there were never any location studies done on it (none that I could find at the MnDOT Library or the MN History Center, anyway), so any attempt to draw it out would be complete conjecture...

[froggie]

US 14/MN 42 in Eyota will get a roundabout by 2016:

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/roundabout-coming-to-dangerous-eyota-intersection/article_c0662498-6027-52f4-abcc-d3eafcb43a68.html

[texaskdog]

Monte's right.  I've *NEVER* seen a flyover proposed for the WB 610 to EB 94 movement, nor would I see any need for it.

Looks to me like a proposed but never-built/designated route between MN 47 south of St Francis and US 61 near Forest Lake that was to serve the never-built Bethel Airport.

Maybe someone can draw it

Problem there is that there were never any location studies done on it (none that I could find at the MnDOT Library or the MN History Center, anyway), so any attempt to draw it out would be complete conjecture...

This in the land of fantasy highways

[froggie]

Google Maps is showing a temporary crossover between the old and new Lafayette Bridge near I-94.  The Google Streetview car has also made it onto a couple of the new ramps.

[texaskdog]

Google Maps is showing a temporary crossover between the old and new Lafayette Bridge near I-94.  The Google Streetview car has also made it onto a couple of the new ramps.

When we visited last month we were staying in Eagan.  We took 52 up to go to Savoys and you cant get there!!!!  There is a little right exit that was probably the right one, then east 94, then west, and you cant go to 7th anymore.  We had to go all the way to Maryland St and then double back.  And NB has an almost right turn jog on the bridge. What  a mess!

[Mdcastle]

Mn/DOT is moving cautiously in regards to LED lighting. They've accepted test units from vendors that want to be approved products, and installed them in Woodbury. There's been one full scale installation, but mostly they're still in the test phase. Mn/DOT bought enough from each manufacturer to convert a river bridge as a larger scale test. Now about a quarter of the lights on the I-35W Minnesota River bridge are out. Turns out a power surge blew out the surge protectors in each unit, and since this is still a test spare parts aren't stocked, so they had to order replacements from the manufacturer which is taking a while.

[texaskdog]

Funding for the final 2 miles of MN 610's route (west from Hennepin County 81 to I-94) has been approved and selection of contractors along with groundbreaking will take place in Fall 2014 with a 2016 completion date.

Only 30 years after it started!

[froggie]

Depends on what you define as "started".  The original corridor studies for the "North Crosstown" (what became MN 610) date back to 1973.

[texaskdog]

Depends on what you define as "started".  The original corridor studies for the "North Crosstown" (what became MN 610) date back to 1973.

Even worse.  I remember riding my bike through there when they rerouted 95th street around 1986.  One thing I really noticed driving to MN & WI from Texas last month is how the roads are just built with no forethought whatsoever.  Most freeways still have only 2 lanes.

[froggie]

One thing I really noticed driving to MN & WI from Texas last month is how the roads are just built with no forethought whatsoever.  Most freeways still have only 2 lanes.

Are you referring to Minnesota freeways here?  Factor in that we aren't dealing with Texas-sized population or traffic levels.  Also consider that, due to their extensive use of ramp metering, the typical Twin Cities freeway can eke out higher volumes on fewer lanes than most other metropolitan areas.  Lastly, freeways and freeway expansions are expensive, and MnDOT just doesn't have the funding to address the latter except in isolated cases here and there.

[texaskdog]

One thing I really noticed driving to MN & WI from Texas last month is how the roads are just built with no forethought whatsoever.  Most freeways still have only 2 lanes.

Are you referring to Minnesota freeways here?  Factor in that we aren't dealing with Texas-sized population or traffic levels.  Also consider that, due to their extensive use of ramp metering, the typical Twin Cities freeway can eke out higher volumes on fewer lanes than most other metropolitan areas.  Lastly, freeways and freeway expansions are expensive, and MnDOT just doesn't have the funding to address the latter except in isolated cases here and there.

Oh how I hated those stupid traffic meters.  I don't miss them.

[froggie]

Looks like MnDOT is in litigation with Steele and Waseca Counties over the turnback of old US 14 between Janesville and Owatonna:

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/newsrels/13/12/31hwy14.html

[froggie]

Close to 2 years ago, I made a post about underway and upcoming interchange projects in Minnesota.  Here's an update, with several completed projects from that list and some new interchange (and roundabout) projects in the pipeline.


Completed (includes new roundabouts):

US 10/Otter Tail CSAH 34 near Perham
US 10/Ramsey CSAH 96 - Partial interchange
MN 13/Old MN 101 in Savage
US 14/Nicollet CSAH 41 near Mankato
US 14/Blue Earth CSAH 12 near Mankato
US 14/Waseca to Owatonna
MN 15/Stearns CR 120 in St. Cloud (Minnesota's 2nd DDI)
MN 23/Paynesville Bypass
MN 36/English St in Maplewood
US 52/Dakota CSAH 47 in Hampton
US 52/Elk Run near Oronoco (Minnesota's 1st DDI)
US 52/65th St NW in Rochester (not listed previously, a folded-diamond interchange built in 2013)
US 59/MN 60 in Worthington - New roundabouts
US 61/Washington CSAH 4 in Hugo - New roundabout
US 63/Olmsted CSAH 14 near Rochester - New roundabout
I-94/Albertville
US 169/Hennepin CSAH 30 in Osseo/Brooklyn Park (was moved from 2014 to 2013)
US 169/I-494 in Bloomington
US 169/Blue Earth - 3 new roundabouts
US 212/MN 284 in Cologne - A "Reduced Conflict Intersection".  Effectively a 3/4 intersection with U-turns on either side.  It's very similar to the intersection improvements Maryland has done on US 15 north of Frederick and US 301 on the Eastern Shore, or the "Superstreet" concept of NCDOT.
MN 284/10th St in Waconia - New roundabout
I-494/34th Ave in Bloomington (not listed previously, converted interchange to a DDI)
I-694/US 10/MN 51


Under construction:

MN 7/Louisiana Ave in St. Louis Park
US 10/Benton CSAH 2 in Rice
MN 13/Dakota CSAH 5 in Burnsville
I-35E/Cayuga St in St. Paul (part of the Cayuga Bridge project, replaces 3/4 interchange at Pennsylvania Ave)
MN 36/Hilton Trl in Pine Springs
MN 36/Stillwater Bridge (includes MN 95 interchange)
US 52/Goodhue CSAH 24 in Cannon Falls
I-94/US 52 (part of the Lafayette Bridge project)
US 169/Scott CSAH 69 in Shakopee
I-394/Ridgedale Dr in Minnetonka - Adding a WB on-ramp to complete a full interchange.


New/upcoming projects (includes known roundabout projects):

US 10/US 169/Anoka CSAH 83 in Ramsey - A partial-folded diamond (EB on-ramp loop) is planned.  If the county can get bond funding, they hope to start the project this year.
US 14/MN 111/CSAH 23 near Nicollet - Part of the Nicollet bypass (to be built 2015-16).  MnDOT considered downsizing the junction last fall based on preliminary findings, but an interchange with roundabouts is currently planned.
US 14/Steele CSAH 43 near Owatonna - Phase 1 (near Owatonna) of the plan to bridge the 4-lane gap between Owatonna and Dodge Center was funded as part of the Governor's "Corridors of Commerce", with construction to begin this year.  A diamond interchange was the original plan at CSAH 43 (from the EIS vision for a freeway facility).  This was then changed to a Reduced Conflict Intersection, but is now going to be built as a standard at-grade intersection instead.
US 14/MN 42 near Eyota - Mentioned upthread, a roundabout will be built in 2015.
MN 15/33rd St in St. Cloud - This is on the existing freeway segment of MN 15 south of MN 23.  The plan is for a diamond interchange with roundabouts to be built this year.
MN 22 at both Blue Earth CSAH 17/Madison Ave and Adams St in Mankato - Roundabouts at both intersections are planned for this year.
MN 29/Douglas CSAH 28 near Alexandria - A roundabout is planned here as part of a larger project that will also reconstruct the I-94/MN 29 interchange (more or less as-is) and widen MN 29 to 4 lanes south to the new roundabout.  The physical location of the roundabout will be at CR 87...CSAH 28 will be realigned to meet MN 29 at the new location.
MN 29/MN 55 near Glenwood - Not currently funded, the plan is to replace the existing at-grade intersection with a bridge on MN 29 over both MN 55 and the adjacent Canadian Pacific tracks.  The connection between the two routes would be made via an improved 160th St.
I-35W/4th St in Minneapolis - Previously expected in 2012, construction will begin this year on a new on-ramp from 4th St to northbound I-35W near downtown Minneapolis.
US 52/Dakota CSAH 66 near Vermillion - MnDOT plans to build a "Reduced Conflict Intersection" this year.
US 52/Dakota CSAH 86 near Cannon Falls - Originally planned as a Reduced Conflict Intersection in 2013, a folded-diamond interchange will now be built in 2015.
US 52/Goodhue CSAH 9 south of Cannon Falls - This "pop-up" project (as Monte calls it) will build a folded-diamond interchange this year.
US 59/Willow St in Detroit Lanes - A roundabout is planned for this year.
MN 60/US 71 North in Windom - A roundabout is planned for 2017.
US 61/MN 97 in Forest Lake - This new 2015/16 project will build roundabouts at each of the 61/97 junctions.  According to current plans, "free rights" will be provided for each MN 97 through-right movement off 61, and also from WB 97 to NB 61.
I-94/US 75 in Moorhead - Planned for 2016, there are 3 alternatives being considered for reconstruction of this interchange:  a DDI, a 5-ramp par-clo, and a 6-ramp par-clo.
MN 100/St Louis Park - The long-awaited full reconstruction of MN 100 in St. Louis Park begins this year.  The plan includes reconstructing the interchanges at MN 7 (into a 5-ramp par-clo) and CSAH 5/Minnetonka Blvd (into a tight diamond).
MN 101/Hennepin CSAH 144 in Rogers - Planned for this year, this project will effectively complete a freeway on northbound MN 101 between Rogers and Elk River (signals will remain for southbound MN 101 near I-94).  The plan is for a diverging diamond.
MN 610/Maple Grove - As noted upthread, construction begins this year to extend MN 610 to I-94.

[froggie]

US 14/Steele CSAH 43 near Owatonna - A diamond interchange is included here in the 1st phase of the overall project to bridge the 4-lane gap between Owatonna and Dodge Center.  Phase 1 (near Owatonna) was funded as part of the Governor's "Corridors of Commerce", with construction to begin this year.

I made a mistake here.  While an interchange was part of the original plan for the 4-laning of US 14, it appears that an at-grade intersection will be built instead…