A rendering of what a Twin Cities boulevard might look like if we remove I-94 between the two downtowns. Illustration couresty of Our Streets.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced late last year they were rejecting a proposal to turn I-94 into a boulevard between Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The proposal arose with grassroots support from residents and community groups as part of MnDOT’s Rethinking I-94 , which is the first comprehensive review of the freeway since it was built in the 1960s.
MnDOT’s plan will continue to evaluate four options: maintaining the current freeway; adding bus shoulders; or rebuilding it with either three or four lanes with E-ZPass — all preserving the highway rather than transforming it.
No final decision has been made, and, in any case, the decision isn’t up to MnDOT. Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota’s Legislature — and ultimately the people who elect them — will have the final say, so it’s important that we keep fighting to change a status quo that prioritizes cars over people. Walz and the Legislature should mandate that MnDOT keep studying highway removal as a viable option — because it is.