The bottleneck that develops almost daily on Hwy. 100 between I-394 and 36th Street in St. Louis Park is enough to drive motorists mad.

News that MnDOT plans to reconstruct one of the most congested segments of freeway in the Twin Cities should bring cheers from the thousands of drivers who make that trip each day.

Starting in late 2014, MnDOT will begin reconstructing the intersections at Hwy. 7 and Minnetonka Blvd. (also known as County Road 5), replacing the structurally deficient bridges at those two intersections, and widen 100 to include three lanes in each direction between 36th Street and 25½ Street, which is just south of I-394.

Pavement rehabilitation, adding additional auxiliary lanes and replacing two railroad bridge are also included in the project.

richard.dalton@state.mn.us In preparing for the $80 million project, MnDOT conducted an assessment to determine environmental impact that the project might have. It is accepting comments through Wednesday. Comments can be sent to Rick Dalton, MnDOT Environmental Coordinator at 1500 West County Road B2, Roseville, MN 55113. Comments can also be submitted by e-mail to

Copies of the assessment are available at the St. Louis Park Library, the downtown Minneapolis Central Library on Nicollet Mall and posted on the MnDOT web site at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy100slp

Built in 1930 as the first beltway around the Twin Cities, MnDOT has called the 2-mile section of Hwy. 100 "sub-standard." A proposal to upgrade that segment was on the table in 2006, but a lack of funding prevented plans from moving forward. A few low-cost improvements, converting the shoulder on the northbound side to a through traffic lane and a collector lane on the southbound side, were made in 2007.

The new project is aimed at improving safety and mobility on Hwy. 100 and replacing bridges that have been identified as being structural deficient and ordered by the legislature to be replaced, the agency said.

Construction is scheduled to be complete by late 2016.

Photo credit: MnDOT