I-35W/I-694 - New Brighton

A standard cloverleaf, the I-35W/I-694 interchange is a significant "turning point" in the Twin Cities freeway system, with large volumes of traffic turning between I-35W and I-694 to the west.  The beginnings of chronic congestion are becoming rapidly apparent.

I-35W goes from south to north.  I-694 runs west to east.  US 10 is in the northeast corner, while former US 8 ran along the north-south road on the left edge.

Relatively simple and straightforward, my idea accommodates the heavy turning movements at the interchange, while providing for more through lanes on both I-35W and I-694.  A C/D road along southbound I-35W keeps weaving from the two remaining loops off of the mainline.  My suggestion, which has been drawn in, is to have 4 lanes in each direction along I-35W, with 4 lanes each direction on I-694 west of I-35W, and 3 lanes each direction east of I-35W.

In 2004, MnDOT had a proposed design for this interchange that is very similar to the idea I display above.  However by August 2005, their proposal had shifted to instead have a SB 35W to EB 694 flyover instead of an EB 694 to NB 35W flyover.  While this would eliminate the need to have C/D roads to reduce weaving, it both leaves a major movement at the interchange stuck on a loop ramp and also duplicates a movement being served by the US 10 cutoff, which itself is proposed to be upgrade to freeway.


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Page last modified 24 May, 2008