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How the new lanes were snuck in the project
A $40 million added cost for new lanes for 35W
The $150 million 35W Access Project includes $40 million for construction
costs associated with the partial accomodation of two new lanes
on 35W.
The information on this addition to the project, including budget
data and an ultimatum from Mn/DOT (if new lanes are not included,
the Access Project is cancelled) was presented to the PAC at its
meeting of December 18 2001. The PAC was forced to vote that day
on accepting the DOT's ultimatum. This not only kept representatives
from discussing the DOT's proposal with their communities, but also
went against the ground rules which had been setup months earlier
to ensure that this opportunity existed.
Representative Karen Clark, who was present at the meeting, urged
PAC members to proceed with caution and to postpone any vote until
after they consulted with their communities. The vote was moved
forward anyway.
Steve Brandt, of the Star Tribune, was also present at the meeting,
and wrote the following article, detailing the PAC vote of December
18 2001 that allowed the accomodation of HOV lanes as part of the
project. The article was published by the Star Tribune on December
19 2001.
I-35W access group backs plan with bus-carpool
lanes
by Steve Brandt
Star Tribune
published 12.19.01
Swallowing their reservations, community and business interests
voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to back a $150 million proposal that
would add access ramps to Interstate Hwy. 35W in south Minneapolis
but also accommodate new lanes for buses and carpools on the freeway.
But the 16-3 vote by an advisory committee from the area made that
support contingent on the Minnesota Department of Transportation
(MnDOT) pledging never to use the new lanes for general traffic
and to spend at least $25 million to buffer the impact of the freeway
on neighborhoods.
"Why kill it for one thing?"; asked Liz Riley, a Bryant
neighborhood representative. "We can work through it."
The group now will seek a meeting next month with state Transportation
Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg.
Construction of access ramps could begin in 2004, but the added
lanes aren't scheduled until about 2015. The bus-carpool lanes would
extend similar lanes the department has proposed adding through
the Crosstown Commons area as far north as 46th Street.
Members of the advisory committee, who have been working for almost
three years to add ramps to I-35W at Lake Street, described the
decision as difficult. Some balked at adding lanes to a freeway
whose expansion was fiercely opposed by neighborhood activists only
a decade ago. But pragmatism won out, especially in light of MnDOT's
ability to override local objections to interstate highway plans.
Still, state Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, chided community
representatives for not taking the issue of adding lanes back to
their neighborhoods for more discussion. She asserted that there
is overwhelming opposition.
The maps presented so far by project consultants show that even
with a new carpool-bus lane in each direction the use of land beyond
the freeway's current boundaries will be limited. This includes
a slice of property up to 60 feet wide on the west edge of Wells
Fargo's Phillips campus, the loss of a business and parts of two
back yards in the Whittier area and the possible loss of an apartment
building where I-35W meets Interstate Hwy. 94.
The entire project involves adding a northbound entrance and a
southbound exit at Lake, shifting the 35th and 36th street ramps
to 38th Street and modifying an existing ramp at 5th Avenue S. The
changes would ripple out into nearby neighborhoods through changing
traffic patterns.
Recognizing that, community representatives have been working with
the state, Hennepin County and their consultant on a package of
measures designed to make the changes less intrusive. They may range
from a soaring cable design anchoring the rebuilt freeway crossing
of Lake Street to neighborhood gateways and traffic roundabouts.
The cost of those measures is estimated at $25.8 million, or almost
one-sixth of the project's budget and a far bigger share than the
state normally spends on such efforts.
But most members of the group reasoned that they could withdraw
its support for the project if Tinklenberg balks. They also set
a condition on having all the money lined up before construction.
The access project began as an effort by businesses such as Abbott
Northwestern Hospital and Honeywell. The project has been governed
largely by a public-private board, with neighborhoods, business
groups and elected officials appointing citizens to the advisory
committee.
The project took a new turn when Tinklenberg last month declared
that any access construction must leave room for bus-carpool lanes.
That irked some committee members, making the lopsidedness and speed
of their vote somewhat surprising.
Voting against the proposal were City Council Member Robert Lilligren,
Kingfield neighborhood representative Jeanne Massey and Ventura
Vilage representative Antonio Rosell.
-- Steve Brandt is at sbrandt@startribune.com or 612-673-4438.
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