Crosstown drivers get extra lane, but it's only temporary

The Minnesota Department of Transportation put in an extra lane on a short portion of Crosstown Hwy. 62 through Edina late last week to help ease congestion.

But drivers should not get used to it: The lane between Valley View Road and Hwy. 100 is temporary, MnDOT spokesman Jesse Johnson said.

MnDOT restriped the shoulder to accommodate extra traffic expected to use westbound Crosstown when lanes on nearby Interstate 494 are shut down as part of a $377 million project now getting underway. Motorists will face nightly lane closures in both directions of I-494 between East Bush Lake Road and the I-35W/494 interchange through June 23.

Over the next four years, drivers will face additional lane closures, including occasional weekend shutdowns of all lanes in both directions — plus ramp and loop closures as MnDOT rebuilds the freeway. Local roads near I-494 in Bloomington, Richfield and Edina will be closed at times, too.

The project, which is expected to run through 2026, includes adding E-Z Pass lanes between Hwy. 100 and I-35W, a ramp at the I-494/35W interchange, bridges at Portland, Nicollet and 12th avenues and a pedestrian bridge at Chicago Avenue.

MnDOT officials anticipate many I-494 drivers will shift over to the Crosstown to avoid travel disruptions, creating the need for a third westbound lane, Johnson said.

MnDOT has done this in the past. The agency converted the shoulder into an additional travel lane from 2017 to 2021 when it rebuilt I-35W between downtown Minneapolis and the Crosstown. When that project was completed, the extra lane on the Crosstown disappeared. When MnDOT is done with I-494, the lane will vanish again.

Why can't it stay? For one, asphalt laid on the shoulder is not as thick as pavement in regular travel lanes and could not support the weight of traffic long-term, Johnson said.

But red tape is the bigger reason. To make the lane permanent, MnDOT would need to conduct an environmental review, which would include evaluating how the new configuration would affect people and things such as wildlife and vegetation near the road.

"If a new lane increases noise, that might require a noise wall to reduce the sound," Johnson said. "Permanently adding a lane is a different process, and we currently don't have a project funded to do it."

Art pops up at bus shelters

Metro Transit is seeking to inject joy into the commute by swapping out advertisements at bus shelters for art.

"After having a difficult past couple of years with the pandemic, you'll have some surprise and joy on the commute by seeing something you would not normally see while waiting for the bus," said Ellen Thomson, a Metro Transit web designer who came up with the idea. "These encounters can have an upward spiral of positive emotions."

Local artists created the installations using familiar materials such as paper, string, toys and tiny bears made of resin. They will be on display at 15 shelters this month and next.