Drivers get new paint markings to guide motorists at confusing west metro intersection

Drive reader Jeff Shields has seen it far too many times: Motorists making the left turn from eastbound Excelsior Boulevard to the northbound Hwy. 100 ramp often are in the wrong lane and at the last second veer over to make the ramp.

In the process, they cut off other drivers while making that dangerous maneuver.

“Twice in the last five days someone in the right hand lane has cut off folks turning from the left hand lane,” the St. Louis Park resident wrote in an email, noting he makes that turn about once a day.

To be fair, the intersection has an oddity that most do not. There are two left turn lanes. One of the lanes is designated to carry drivers from Excelsior onto Park Center Boulevard. Then drivers need to make a quick jog to the left to get onto the ramp to Hwy. 100.

The other left turn lane is specifically to be used by drivers continuing straight on Park Center Boulevard, a frontage road that runs parallel to Hwy. 100.

Conflicts occur when drivers who want to go north on Hwy. 100 realize they are in the lane dedicated to Park Center Boulevard, and force their way across traffic and onto the Hwy. 100 ramp.

Signs at the intersection tell drivers which left turn lane to use. But aside from the confusing layout, Shields says a lack of paint designating the lanes might be another contributing factor to the chaos.

He said other roads in the area have been restriped recently. “Can we please get the turn lanes striped as well?”

The Drive took his concerns and request to Hennepin County, which owns Excelsior Boulevard.

“We plan to refresh the striping on Excelsior Boulevard, and add a sign closer to the intersection to better inform and align drivers making a left turn to Park Center Boulevard and Hwy. 100 in the next couple weeks,” said spokesman Colin Cox. “We are also monitoring traffic to see if there are signal timing adjustments that would help with traffic flow.”

Shields said the paint job also needs dotted lines to keep motorists in their proper lanes as they round the corner from Excelsior onto Park Center.

“We need striping around the corner to guide folks,” Shields said.

Travelers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport might face flight delays, but their phone calls, text messages and emails should not be hampered.

The airport teamed with Verizon to replace more than 1,000 antennas and 1,000 miles of fiber-optic cables inside and outside the terminals as it recently upgraded to 5G technology.

“Speeds will be 10 times faster,” said Joel Crane, Verizon’s senior director for network performance.

The airport’s wireless network was installed ahead of the 2018 Super Bowl played in the Twin Cities. But it had dead spots.

With the upgrades, the 20,000 devices connected to the network at any one time during the day will experience “faster and more reliable service,” said Eduardo Valencia, chief information officer for the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns and operates MSP.