ST. PAUL, Minn.— Traffic congestion on some state roadways in the Twin Cities metropolitan area has decreased for the third straight year, according to the Metropolitan Freeway System 2006 Congestion Report released recently by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The total number of congested miles was 267 miles in 2006, down from 277 miles in 2005 and 280 miles in 2004. The peak of Twin Cities traffic congestion was 293 miles in 2003. A congested mile is a mile of traffic moving slower than 45 miles per hour.

Mn/DOT attributes the reduction to the completion of a number of major construction projects in late 2005 and 2006. These capacity-adding projects include:

• Opening of the first of two bridges on the Wakota project carrying Interstate 494 traffic over the Mississippi River (October 2006) - The opening added a lane in each direction, eliminating congestion in both directions.
• New lane additions northbound and southbound on Highway 100 between Highway 7 and I-394 (October 2006) - This reduced congestion from six hours daily to one hour a day.
• New lane in each direction on I-494 between Highway 5 and Carlson Parkway (August 2006) - Southbound congestion was eliminated, as was northbound congestion at Highway 7.
• New lane in each direction on I-94 over McKnight Road (December 2005) - Congestion was eliminated on the eastbound side east of Highway 61.
• New auxiliary lane on Interstate 394 westbound between Louisiana Avenue and the exit to Highway 169 (November 2005) - This improvement reduced congestion from three hours daily to one hour a day.

"These projects have added significant capacity in the metro area," said Lt. Gov./ Commissioner Carol Molnau. "Reduced congestion saves time and money for motorists and is good for the environment because of reduced auto emissions."

"There are other Twin Cities capacity-adding road construction projects that are either in progress or set to begin soon and they will aid in congestion reduction several years from now," Molnau said. "We anticipate that there could be a rise in congestion rates in the intervening years."

To respond to that potential congestion, Mn/DOT it is identifying a number of small- to mid-level projects that could help lessen congestion in the next few years, Molnau added.

The Metropolitan Freeway System 2006 Congestion Report can be found at www.dot.state.mn.us/trafficeng/otepubl/CongestionReport-2006.pdf.

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