Drivers on I-94, between Highway 280 and Downtown Minneapolis, are now used to 4 lane traffic, both eastbound and westbound. Will the 4th lane go away now that the 35 W Bridge has been rebuilt?
Min DOT officials won't say. They'll decide in a few months or so. For now, the lane they added to ease congestion on the detour route, will stay open.
It's good news for U of M student Allison Moore. "Whenever I come home it never takes me as long as it used to, so I guess it's nice to have. I think they should leave it there," she said.
Steve Streeter says he's not so sure about lane #4, he admits he's a bit claustrophobic. "It's a little more hectic because you have cars all around you and you're more worried about one guy screwing up," Streeter explained.
Dr. Henry Liu, a U of M Civil Engineer, has been studying the detour route since August of 2007. He understands those claustrophobia concerns. "One of the most important reasons for Min DOT to take this thing back is really because there is no shoulder, no space to stop, if anything happens," Liu said.
Without a shoulder, metro transit busses can't slide by and traffic stops and accident write-ups are daunting tasks for state troopers.
Liu says adding the extra lane was a brilliant move to reduce congestion on the detour route. He also wonders how the driving public will take it, if Min DOT pulls the lane away. "When you have so much capacity, travel becomes so much easier. People travel more and they expect more," Liu explained.
Liu says his researchers will help Min DOT make a decision, sometime after the bridge reopens. The big question is did the extra lane add more demand? Engineers will have that answer in the next few months.
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