Location

• 140th Street West in Apple Valley to I-494 in Bloomington
  

Goals

• Reduce congestion along the entire corridor without moving the problem downstream
• Provide advantages for transit and carpoolers
• Provide a congestion-free choice for single occupant vehicles
• Utilize existing infrastructure

Additional Links

• Managed Lanes Fact Sheet
• Contra Lanes Fact Sheet
• Existing managed lanes on I-394 and I-35W
• Why Managed Lanes?
• Final Report
• Dakota County Letter of Support
• City of Bloomington Letter of Support
• City of Apple Valley Letter of Support
• City of Eagan Letter of Support
  

Contra Flow MnPASS Lane

 

Creating an additional lane for northbound traffic during rush hour

The additional northbound lane would be created by using a truck that moves the center concrete median so that one or more of the lanes generally used only for southbound traffic can be used for northbound traffic. This would be done during rush hour and other times when there is heavy traffic. These lanes are sometimes referred to as Contra-Flow Lanes

The advantages include lower construction cost and shorter construction time. Also, because it would use existing pavement, it would use less resources--a cleaner commute!

The initial study shows this would be a good solution for this section of Cedar Avenue. Mn/DOT has received federal funds to further study the idea. These lanes could operate like the MnPASS lanes on I-394 and I-35W and would be open to high occupancy vehicles, buses, and single occupant vehicles that pay a fee.

 

Description:

• Contra flow lane from 138th Street to Old Shakopee Road using moveable barrier system
  
• Does not require full elimination of grass median south of I-35E
  
• Traffic projections indicate this is a viable solution for 20+ years
  
• Noise analysis required but may not require noise walls

 

Advantages:

• Relieves bottleneck north of 138th Street and at the river bridge without overloading the I-494 interchange
  
• Increase throughput over bridge attracts trips away from regional system
  
• Provides transit advantage for express buses from Apple Valley and south while preserving bus shoulders for station to station service and express buses from Eagan
  
• Does provide congestion-free choice for general purpose traffic and carpools
  
• Does improve travel time reliability
  
• Utilizes existing infrastructure

 

Disadvantages:

• Ongoing operations and maintenance costs
  
• Intermediate access north of I-35E does not provide access to contra flow lane for users north of I-35E