Some ramp metering hours to lengthen

Updated: January 31, 2008 - 9:21 PM

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THE LATEST: Starting Monday, ramp meters on three sections of Twin Cities freeways might be in operation for longer periods during the morning and afternoon rush hours, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

THE THREE CORRIDORS:

• Interstate 494 between 34th Avenue in Bloomington and the junction with I-94/ I-694 in Maple Grove.

• Hwy. 100 between I-394 and I-494.

• Hwy. 10 between I-35W and Hwy. 169.

HOURS OF OPERATION:

The new hours of operation will be 5:30-9 a.m. and 2-6 p.m. The meters won't always be on during the new hours but will be activated when traffic warrants. (The previous hours were 6-8:30 a.m. and 3-5:45 p.m.)

WHY: Brian Kary, MnDOT's director of freeway operations for the metro area, says the adjustment is being made in response to normal traffic growth on the highways and isn't related to the I-35W bridge collapse. The metering system hasn't been modified much since 2002, he said, and expanded metering can reduce congestion during rush hours.

Detectors embedded in freeway lanes every half mile to measure traffic levels will determine whether a meter goes on and how long the waits are. Kary said he doesn't expect meters to switch on at 2 p.m. very often, though summer Fridays might be a time when they do.

JIM FOTI