Minnesota Notes

[froggie]

Possibly a contractor error, since MnDOT sign standards clearly point out the county name should be included on "independent" (i.e. standalone) markers.  It's on guide signage that the county name is omitted.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MNDot tentatively planning a six-month shutdown of US 169 between Mankato and St. Peter sometime in 2016 in order to improve safety as well as raise the road level to end frequent road flooding:

http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/minnesota/2014/11/17/mankato-st-peter-highway-196-construction/19195509/

Two different detour routes are planned: MN 22 on the east side and MN 99 on the west side. I expect the detour you follow will depend on what direction of 169 you are driving.

[froggie]

That would be this project.  They did St. Peter to Le Sueur this year, which also included converting two intersections on the north side of St. Peter to RCI's (Reduced-Conflict Intersections) and removing a few other median crossings.

Next year's construction will raise MN 22 between 169/99 and the Minnesota River bridge.

For 169 between Mankato and St. Peter, there's not much they can do to avoid a detour.  It's a pretty tight fit in there between the river bluff and the river, and there's very little median along much of it.

[Mdcastle]

There was a homicide at the Elm Creek rest area in Maple Grove when one man from Washington state shot another one, then led police on a high speed chase across the northern suburbs ending when he crashed at I-694 and Snelling, and was himself shot by police when he got out brandishing a weapon. It's still unclear what the motivation was or even why they were here. Elm Creek has always felt weird and unsafe to me for some reason, and I avoid stopping there. Some homeless live in cars there (and at Hudson) where the staff tolerate them as long as they don't leave a mess.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

There was a homicide at the Elm Creek rest area in Maple Grove when one man from Washington state shot another one, then led police on a high speed chase across the northern suburbs ending when he crashed at I-694 and Snelling, and was himself shot by police when he got out brandishing a weapon. It's still unclear what the motivation was or even why they were here. Elm Creek has always felt weird and unsafe to me for some reason, and I avoid stopping there. Some homeless live in cars there (and at Hudson) where the staff tolerate them as long as they don't leave a mess.

I felt like that rest area became obsolete anyway when Maple Grove exploded in services and population in the last decade. Never needed to stop there despite driving past it for years.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MNDot has tentatively selected its plan to rebuild and realign part of MN 1/169 east of Tower. The "hybrid" Option 3A southern route was chosen which means the west part of the rebuild will be new road and the east part will utilize the existing route; there are concerns remaining over sulfur content in rocks in the area that could be released by blasting. Work expected to begin in 2017.

The road will be straighter with more passing zones, more turn lanes, and a bigger clear zone in the hopes that more sunlight will mitigate ice concerns.

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d1/projects/Hwy169eagles/

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d1/projects/Hwy169eagles/docs/layout-lrg.pdf

[Bickendan]

When did MN 55 get rerouted off of 7th and 8th in downtown Minneapolis and onto I-94 between Olson Memorial and Hiawatha?

[SSOWorld]

years ago - don't ask exactly how many but I know it was before 2012.

[NE2]

If you're interested in the answer rather than simply making small talk: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=5112

[froggie]

SPUI:  this was a recent transfer, so it wouldn't have been on those historic map scans.

To answer bick's question....officially, MnDOT never actually transferred MN 55 onto an I-94 concurrency.  There's officially a gap through downtown.  The drop through downtown happened between mid-2004 and mid-2005.

[NE2]

this was a recent transfer, so it wouldn't have been on those historic map scans.

Sure it is. The 2007-08 shows it, but the 2009-10 has it (messily) removed. If you're right about the date, they forgot to remove it earlier.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

MN 55 is now fully signed as to where it joins I-94 after MnDOT replaced the signs at the I-94/Hiawatha Ave interchange earlier this year.

[Bickendan]

SPUI:  this was a recent transfer, so it wouldn't have been on those historic map scans.

To answer bick's question....officially, MnDOT never actually transferred MN 55 onto an I-94 concurrency.  There's officially a gap through downtown.  The drop through downtown happened between mid-2004 and mid-2005.

Ah, I'd never noticed the route drop between the 2002 Thomas Bros paper map (the only year they did anything for the Cities) and the 2005 or 2008 King atlases.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I've noticed that the state highway shield outline has gone from a tan/yellow to a more vivid orange on new standalone placements. I'll get pictures as soon as possible. It's not as noticeable on BGSs as standalone shields.

[froggie]

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/289687251.html

Strib article about roundabouts in Minnesota, and mentions how MnDOT recently changed its engineering standards to give roundabouts equal weight to traffic signals.

There are several rural highway junctions in western and southwestern Minnesota that I think would be excellent roundabout candidates.  These locations are either all-way stops or have traffic signals, the latter of which IMO are very out of place for their rural character:

- US 14/US 59 west of Tracy
- US 14/US 71 near Sanborn
- US 71/MN 7 south of Willmar
- US 75/US 212 south of Madison
- US 212/MN 15 near Brownton
- MN 15/MN 24/MN 55 in Kimball

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I think a great place for a roundabout would be MN 25/MN 95 near Foley. It's a four-way stop currently.

Wonder about the feasibility of a Medford-type setup at I-35/MN 23/Pine CR 61 at Hinckley with roundabouts on both sides of 35. 61 comes in from the southeast side of the interchange, takes a sharp turn west to cross 35, then turns north again off MN 23 as a frontage road to 35.

[froggie]

I think a great place for a roundabout would be MN 25/MN 95 near Foley. It's a four-way stop currently.

South of Foley, yes.  They probably even could have put one in at MN 23/MN 25 in Foley when they widened 23, though they reinstalled the signal instead.

[Molandfreak]

To my surprise, the County 9 exit on U.S. 52 is labled Exit 89. Maybe MN/Dot will phase out the unnumbered exits on 52 sooner than I expected.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

To my surprise, the County 9 exit on U.S. 52 is labled Exit 89. Maybe MN/Dot will phase out the unnumbered exits on 52 sooner than I expected.

Where is that? I tried to find it on Maps and couldn't. Interesting though as I think that places north of the MN 60 exits and as far as I know those are unnumbered.

[Molandfreak]

North of the junction with MN57. It's the road that leads to Dennison westbound and Goodhue eastbound. Formerly an at-grade.

[NE2]

Also: U-52: I-35EE?

[Molandfreak]

Here.

Also: U-52: I-35EE?

Nope, I-69NN

[Molandfreak]

Another "popup project" that's been in the works since last year, but I haven't been aware of it. Overpass and "interchange" at Goodhue County 9. The county didn't like the idea of a reduced conflict intersection so they came up with some of their own money and got some grants. For now they're cheaping out by building what's more like right turns as opposed to ramps, but the plan is to upgrade them later as traffic increases. This is a design-build so it is going to go up rapidly and may even be done at the same time later this year as the Cannon Falls interchange.

Just noticed this, so a bump here; the county isn't to blame for shooting down the reduced conflict intersection as much as local residents who cross there with tractors/other heavy machinery. That makes up a good deal of the traffic that crosses 52 there, so that's why the reduced conflict intersection would have been terrible. My aunt (who is a MN/DOT employee) and I use the road on a regular basis and agreed it would do more harm than good. Complaints from us and many others in the area are what prompted the county to come up with money for the overpass.

[texaskdog]

The groundbreaking was held a couple weeks ago on the MN-43 Mississippi River bridge project at Winona. The existing 1940s truss bridge was closed for a couple months back in 2008 when a rusted-through gusset plate was found, and after temporary repairs Mn/DOT started planning the rebuild project.

The project will build a new bridge just to the upstream side of the existing bridge, and traffic will be moved over to it (2016) and the existing bridge closed for rehabilitation. Once rehab is done (2019) both bridges will be opened turning it into a four-lane crossing.

Some historical photos here:
http://www.winonadailynews.com/special-section/winona-bridge-project/

The profile of the new bridge reminds me a little of the I-35W bridge. Must be Mn/DOT's new favorite bridge type.

I remember crossing the old Wabasha bridge the day I crossed this (1983?).  The Wabasha bridge must be long gone.  http://www.dajensen-family.com/roads/mn60bridge.html

[texaskdog]

On a side note I've always wondered why US 63 wasn't rerouted over MN 58 from Zumbrota to Red Wing?  Once US 52 went to 4 lanes it would seem to make more sense and now it has an even stranger routing through Rochester.  Red Wing doesn't really need two US highways either.