Interstate 35W (Minnesota)

Interstate 35W
Interstate 35W highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Mn/DOT
Length:	41.778 mi (67.235 km)
Major junctions
South end:	I-35 / I-35E in Burnsville
	I-494 in Bloomington , Richfield MN 62 in Richfield , Minneapolis I-94 in Minneapolis MN 36 / MN 280 in Roseville I-694 in New Brighton , Arden Hills US 10 in Mounds View
North end:	I-35 / I-35E in Columbus, near Forest Lake
Location
Counties:	Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Minnesota Trunk Highways Interstate US State Legislative routes ← I-35E MN 36 →

Interstate 35W (I-35W) is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Minnesota, passing through downtown Minneapolis. It is one of two through routes for Interstate 35 through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the other being Interstate 35E through downtown Saint Paul. I-35 splits into two branch routes: I-35W, which serves Minneapolis, and I-35E, which serves Saint Paul.

Traveling north, I-35 splits at Burnsville, and the I-35W route runs north for 41 miles, carrying its own separate sequence of exit numbers. It runs through the city of Minneapolis before rejoining with I-35E to re-form I-35 in Columbus near Forest Lake. I-35W supplanted sections of old U.S. Highway 8 northeast of Minneapolis and old U.S. Highway 65 south of Minneapolis that have since been removed from the U.S. highway system.

During the early years of the Interstate Highway System, branching Interstates with directional suffixes such as N, S, E, and W were common nationwide. On every other interstate nationwide, these directional suffixes have been phased out by re-designating the suffixed route numbers with a loop or spur route number designation. In the case of I-35 in the Twin Cities area, since neither branch is clearly the main route and both branches return to a unified interstate beyond the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the AASHTO officials have allowed the suffixes of E and W in Minnesota to remain in the present day. A similar split on I-35 continues to exist in Texas at Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, for similar reasons as the I-35 split in the Minneapolis - Saint Paul area.

Route description

I-35W approaching downtown Minneapolis from the south.

The southern terminus of I-35W is at Burnsville, where I-35 splits into I-35E and I-35W. While I-35E takes a northeasterly path into Saint Paul, I-35W heads north into Minneapolis. I-35W maintains a northbound direction in Burnsville with two lanes and adds a third lane at Burnsville Parkway. It then crosses the Minnesota River into Bloomington. At the Bloomington / Richfield city boundary, I-35W has a cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 494. I-35W continues northbound into Richfield, where it turns east and joins with Minnesota route 62 for about 1/4 mile in what is locally known as the Crosstown Commons. I-35W and Highway 62 split as two lanes of I-35W turn northbound toward downtown Minneapolis, where it adds back a third lane and then later a fourth and a fifth lane at the 46th Street on-ramp.

I-35W swerves slightly northeast immediately south of downtown to avoid the Washburn-Fair Oaks Mansion District. Three lanes then split north onto Old Highway 65, which exits into downtown. The two right-hand lanes of I-35W curve a sharp right east where it runs side by side with Interstate 94 for less than a mile, allowing drivers to exchange highways. Here, the interchange with Interstate 94 doesn't have direct access for southbound I-35W to eastbound I-94 or westbound I-94 to northbound I-35W. Drivers must use the Cedar and Washington Avenue exits to make these connections.

I-35W completes its eastern loop around downtown, and then crosses the Mississippi River on the new St. Anthony Falls bridge and winds northeast out of Northeast Minneapolis. Here, I-35W passes through industrial areas near the suburbs of St. Anthony, Lauderdale, Roseville, and Arden Hills.

Interstate 35W then meets Interstate 694 in New Brighton and Arden Hills at a cloverleaf interchange. U.S. Highway 10 joins I-35W one mile (1.6 km) north of the I-35W / I-694 interchange. I-35W and U.S. 10 run concurrently for another mile before the latter turns westward at Mounds View and Shoreview. I-35W passes next to the Twin Cities Ordnance Plant and again turns northeastward through the suburbs of Blaine and Lino Lakes. The communities of Lexington and Circle Pines are also nearby throughout this stretch. I-35W then merges with I-35E to re-form I-35 at Columbus near Forest Lake.

Interstate 35W carries its own set of exit numbers in the Twin Cities area, while Interstate 35E continues the Interstate 35 exit numbering scheme which goes between the Iowa state line and the city of Duluth.

Access between Interstate 35W and Interstate 35E in the Twin Cities area is done via circulator Interstate highways 494, 94, and 694; though many trunk and county highways, especially near the two downtown cores offer direct access between the two.

Legally, the route of Interstate 35W is defined as part of unmarked Legislative Route 394 in the Minnesota Statutes § 161.12(2), Interstate 35W is not marked with this legislative number along the actual highway.

History

Flooding

Interstate 35W is prone to heavy-rain event flooding in several areas, intersecting both natural habitats including the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge between Burnsville and Bloomington; and the dense urban areas through the city of Minneapolis (see Twin Cities climate). In the great 1965 Minnesota River flood, the highway was under water in the flood plain wetlands south of the Minnesota River bridge at Burnsville. Dikes have been constructed and the highway road has been raised since then. The storm sewer system under I-35W in the urban core of south Minneapolis has also been cited as a place prone to flash floods during rain events. Improvements continue to be made to this area as part of future projects.

Minnesota River crossing

Main article: I-35W Minnesota River bridge

When the Minnesota River bridge between Burnsville and Bloomington was completed in 1960 it was two-lanes in each direction. I-35W at the time only extended as far south as State Highway 13 in Burnsville. Improvements were made in 1984 to redeck and widen the bridge but subsoil problems found at the north end resulted in the new lanes being temporarily closed. In 1989, the lanes were opened as HOV when the Minnesota Department of Transportation expanded the north approach to carry the additional traffic.

Mississippi River crossing

For the bridge that collapsed in 2007, see I-35W Mississippi River bridge. For the new 2008 replacement bridge, see I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge.

On Wednesday, August 1, 2007, the Interstate 35W Mississippi River Bridge in Minneapolis, collapsed into the Mississippi River around 6:05pm CDT. The metal arch bridge had a length of approximately 1,900 feet (580 m) and a roadway height of over 100 feet (30 m) above the river. The bridge connected Minneapolis southwest of the Mississippi River to the Northeast Minneapolis neighborhood and served residents in the northern suburbs of the metro area. Due to the collapse of the I-35W Bridge, I-35W traffic was temporarily detoured through eastbound Interstate 94 to northbound State Highway 280 where it meets up with I-35W in Roseville.

The replacement Interstate 35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge was built in less than a year and opened to traffic on September 18, 2008 at 5:00am CDT, three months ahead of schedule.

I-35W and Highway 62 Crosstown Commons reconstruction project

A pre-construction photo of the Crosstown Commons junction. The two left lanes are Interstate 35W northbound, while State Highway 62 enters via the ramp on the right.

The Crosstown Commons is one of the most congested traffic interchanges in Minnesota. While it is sometimes referred to as an intersection, it is a one-mile (1.6 km) merger or concurrency of Interstate 35W and State Highway 62. The layout is not a typical intersection: there is only a single level of roadbed and it creates a dogleg in Interstate 35W. This shared right-of-way "intersection" for Interstate 35W and State Highway 62 has been a topic of political debate for many years. There are only six lanes on the commons and all drivers merging from one highway to the other are required to change at least one lane as they merge and then diverge again. The name comes from the fact that Highway 62 is also known locally as the Crosstown Highway.

The project to improve the interchange began in May 2007, after bids were received in April 2007. The new interchange features three through-lanes for Interstate 35W in both directions, ending at 42nd Street, and two separate through-lanes for Highway 62 in each direction, eliminating the need to weave across traffic. The cost of correcting the deficiencies in that short stretch of highway was estimated to be $285 million.

In 2004, the City of Minneapolis threatened to withhold municipal consent for the project unless new bus lanes and bus stations were included. Lake Street currently has a bus station at grade with Interstate 35W on both sides. Eventually the project was altered to include the desired additional bus access. The bid was won by the Ames, Lunda, and Schafer consortium for the 2007 cost of $288 million. The project included 25 new bridges, 63 lane-miles of highway, and expanded the total roadway width from 6 lanes to 12 lanes at Lyndale Avenue. The bridges were cast in Coates, Minnesota and trucked in for on-site erection. The new design includes transit / HOV lanes and was completed in November 2010.

Future

Access Project

The Interstate 35W Access Project proposes to add and reconfigure ramps roughly from Franklin Avenue to 45th Street in south Minneapolis. Some proposed changes include relocating the 35th / 36th Street ramps to 38th Street, adding new ramps at Lake Street, adding a northbound exit to 28th Street and reconstruct or widen roads to accommodate new ramps. For example, at Lake Street, there is only one off-ramp which comes from the south and an on-ramp going south. Federal funding was appropriated but the project has been controversial.

Interstate 35W Bus Rapid Transitway

The proposed METRO Orange Line bus rapid transitway would run from the southern suburb of Lakeville to downtown Minneapolis on I-35W, passing through Burnsville, Bloomington, and Richfield. Current plans call for a center high-occupancy toll lane or price-dynamic shoulder lane, for the exclusive use of buses, high-occupancy vehicles, and drivers willing to pay the dynamically priced toll, running from Lakeville to downtown Minneapolis.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Dakota	Burnsville	0.000	0.000		I-35 south	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-35 north exit 88A
		0.603	0.970	1	CSAH 42 (Crystal Lake Road)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		2.328	3.747	2	Burnsville Parkway
		2.693– 2.707	4.334– 4.356	3	MN 13 – Shakopee	Signed as exits 3A (north) and 3B (south)
		3.166– 3.196	5.095– 5.143	4A	Cliff Road (CR 5, CR 32)
		4.153– 4.427	6.684– 7.125	4B	Black Dog Road
Hennepin	Bloomington	5.225– 5.251	8.409– 8.451	5	106th Street
		6.236	10.036	6	CSAH 1 (98th Street)
		6.766	10.889	7A	94th Street
		7.299	11.747	7B	90th Street
		8.294	13.348	8	82nd Street
	Bloomington–Richfield city line	8.747– 8.758	14.077– 14.095	9	I-494 / MN 5	Signed as exits 9A (east) and 9B (west); I-494 exits 5A-B
	Richfield	9.008	14.497	9C	76th Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		10.248– 10.276	16.493– 16.538	10A	CSAH 53 (66th Street)
		10.417– 10.966	16.765– 17.648	10B	MN 62 west / 58th Street (MN 121 north)	South end of MN 62 overlap
		10.995– 11.019	17.695– 17.733	11A	Lyndale Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		11.532	18.559	11B	MN 62 east	North end of MN 62 overlap
	Minneapolis	11.867– 11.891	19.098– 19.137	12A	60th Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		12.518	20.146	12B	Diamond Lake Road
		13.632	21.939	13	46th Street (CR 46)
		14.880– 15.005	23.947– 24.148	14	35th Street, 36th Street
		15.484– 15.627	24.919– 25.149	15	31st Street, Lake Street (CR 3)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		16.194– 16.892	26.062– 27.185	16A	I-94 west / Downtown exits	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; old MN 65
		17.400	28.003	16B	I-94 east – St. Paul	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		17.652– 17.697	28.408– 28.481	17A	MN 55 east (Hiawatha Avenue)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		17.378	27.967		I-94 west / 11th Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		17.968– 18.134	28.917– 29.184	17C	3rd Street (CR 122), Washington Avenue (CR 152) – University of Minnesota East Bank, West Bank
		18.374– 18.736	29.570– 30.153	St. Anthony Falls Bridge over the Mississippi River
		18.804– 18.881	30.262– 30.386	18	CSAH 36 (University Avenue) / 4th Street Southeast
		19.564	31.485	19	East Hennepin Avenue (CR 52)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		20.535– 20.779	33.048– 33.441	21A	CSAH 27 (Stinson Boulevard) / CSAH 88 (New Brighton Boulevard)
		19.641	31.609	21B	Johnson Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		21.518– 21.552	34.630– 34.685	22	To MN 280 / Industrial Boulevard, St. Anthony Boulevard
Ramsey	Roseville	21.955– 22.298	35.333– 35.885	23A	MN 280	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		22.619– 23.100	36.402– 37.176	23B	MN 36 / Cleveland Avenue (CR 46)
		23.513– 23.547	37.841– 37.895	24	CR C (CR 23), Cleveland Avenue (CR 46)
	Roseville–New Brighton city line	24.578	39.554	25A	CR D (CR 19)
	New Brighton	24.920	40.105	25B	CSAH 88	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Arden Hills–New Brighton city line	26.090	41.988	26	CR E2 (CR 46, CR 73)
		26.760– 26.776	43.066– 43.092	27	I-694	Signed as exits 27A (east) and 27B (west); I-694 exits 41A-B
		27.594	44.408	28A	CSAH 96
	Arden Hills–Mounds View city line	28.250– 28.481	45.464– 45.836	28B	US 10 east – St. Paul	South end of US 10 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		28.250– 25.481	45.464– 41.008	28B	CSAH 10 west / County Road H (CR 9)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		28.734	46.243	28C	To CSAH 10 / County Road H (CR 9)	No northbound exit
	Arden Hills–Mounds View–Shoreview tripoint	29.588– 29.608	47.617– 47.649	29	CR I (CR 3)
	Shoreview–Mounds View city line	30.134	48.496	30	US 10 west – Anoka	North end of US 10 overlap
Ramsey–Anoka county line	Shoreview–Mounds View–Blaine tripoint	30.733	49.460	31A	CR J, 85th Avenue Northeast (CR 32)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Anoka	Blaine	31.006	49.899	31B	Lake Drive (CR 23)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		32.014	51.522	32	CSAH 52 (95th Avenue Northeast)
		33.602	54.077	33	CSAH 17 (Lexington Avenue)
	Lino Lakes	36.512	58.760	36	CSAH 23
	Columbus	41.778	67.235		I-35 north	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-35 south exit 127
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access