West metro city leaders and residents have long appealed to the state to add a third lane on Interstate 494 from Hwy. 55 north to Interstate 694 — the only portion of 494 that lacks a third lane.
But until that happens, a temporary and cheaper fix is coming with a road project that will add wider shoulders, known as "dynamic shoulders," for traffic during rush hours.
State transportation officials will meet with Maple Grove, Plymouth and Minnetonka residents and businesses next week to discuss the $61.5 million project. The Minnesota Department of Transportation sent out more than 10,000 invitations to businesses and residents for meetings at Plymouth City Hall Tuesday, Nov. 19 — the first of many public meetings before construction is slated to start in eight months.
Starting in July, MnDOT crews will repave I-494 between I-394 and the Fish Lake interchange, where I-694, I-94 and I-494 converge. They'll also repair 14 bridges and add noise barriers for homes and businesses if they vote to do so.
What is likely to be most significant to the estimated 95,000 commuters each day, however, will be the "dynamic shoulders" added in both directions between Hwy. 55 and East Fish Lake Road.
The wider shoulder will be opened to traffic during peak periods of the day, similar to a dynamic shoulder on northbound I-35W between 46th and 26th streets in south Minneapolis — although motorists must pay to use it there.
In the west metro, I-494 is clogged with traffic congestion as the northwest suburbs boom. By 2030, nearly 133,000 vehicles are expected to use the roadway each day.
In the early 2000s, I-494 was widened to three lanes in each direction south of I-394, and the work would have continued north, but plans surfaced identifying I-494 for a MnPass lane, stalling the project and leaving Plymouth with about 6 miles that have only two lanes in each direction.
