What was once only a dream for Rogers and St. Michael business owners is now an official reality, with plans on paper to widen Interstate 94 beginning later this summer.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation released plans for the expansion of Interstate 94 between Highways 101 and 241 earlier this year. Construction should begin in July 2014, if things progress as scheduled.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation unveiled the timeline for the Interstate 94 widening project, which will add a third lane of traffic to the thoroughfare from Rogers’ Highway 101 exit to the Minnesota Highway 241 exit at St. Michael.
For a better look- I94LaneExpansion
The project, which comes in at a price tag between $35 million to $40 million (dependent on whom you ask), is part of the Gov. Mark Dayton and MnDOT’s Corridors of Commerce project, which will send hundreds of millions of dollars on road projects statewide.
The outline, via the MnDOT site:
Eastbound I-94
- Build an auxiliary lane from Hwy 241 to Hwy 101
Westbound I-94
- Extend the Hwy 101 exit ramp at Rogers
- Install a third lane from
Rogers to St. Michael - Construct a noise wall on the north side of the interstate in Rogers
Crow River bridges
- Widen bridges, includes new support girders and deck surfaces
The final piece of that puzzle is, according to St. Michael City Administrator and I-94 coalition chair Steve Bot, the most expensive piece of the project.
“That will be the most time-consuming and costly,” Bot said. “Simply because you’re dealing with the river, widening the bridge and battling traffic at peak hours. It will take some planning and extensive work to get that part done.”
MnDOT expects work to begin on the project in July, provided the letting process and plans are drawn as scheduled. The project will linger into 2015, thanks to the bridge construction.