With the snip of a red ribbon, Independence Mayor Marvin Johnson on Monday officially opened the County Road 92 overpass over Hwy. 12, culminating a yearslong effort to improve safety at the intersection deemed one of the most dangerous in Minnesota.
The $22 million project, which realigned County Road 92 with a bridge over Hwy. 12 and adjacent railroad tracks and includes a multilane roundabout, marked the latest effort to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes along the far west metro highway that once was dubbed the "Corridor of Death."
"This is a great day," Johnson said before the ribbon cutting. "We are grateful. The community has a north-south connection. There is no interrupted access."

County Road 92 previously intersected with Hwy. 12 at two locations about a quarter-mile apart. A 2015 Minnesota Department of Transportation audit found drivers on the stretch of Hwy. 12 between the two points were twice as likely to be involved in a serious injury or fatal crash than anywhere else in the state, said Gary Kroells, chief of West Hennepin Public Safety, which serves Independence and Maple Plain. The findings led to the creation of the Hwy. 12 Safety Coalition, which pushed hard for the upgrade.
"This is long overdue," Kroells said during Monday's event. "This will be an immediate improvement to save lives and protect the community."
To those who have died there, "we will never forget their families," he added.
Debi and Jim Pool, who live near the new overpass, took in the celebration and on bicycles were the first to cross the bridge.
"This is great," Debi Pool said. In the past, the Pools have avoided using the intersection because of the dangerous conditions and took other routes when traveling to Delano to the west. "This is wonderful. It is much safer."