Politics & Government
Wiger Watching Provision Allowing Toll Lanes on I-35E
I-35E from I-94 to I-694 is MnDOT's next priority for MnPASS lanes.
Sen. Chuck Wiger said he’s concerned about a provision in the state Senate’s omnibus transportation bill that would allow toll lanes to be added on Interstate 35E between Interstate 94 and Interstate 694.
“I don’t feel the case has been made for an express toll way out here,” said Wiger, a Maplewood DFLer who represents Oakdale. “I would have like to have vetted this with my communities and get more input.”
Similar toll lanes—called MnPASS lanes—already exist on Interstate 394 and Interstate 35W. Carpools, motorcycles and transit buses can use the lanes for free, but individual drivers have to pay a rate that averages from $1 to $4 and changes based on traffic volume to keep the lanes moving at 50 to 55 mph, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation's MnPASS website.
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The stretch on Interstate 35E is top priority for the metro area’s next MnPASS lane, said freeway operations engineer Brian Kary, because it has a high transit need, leads to a centralized downtown location and because the area is already set for reconstruction starting in 2012 as part of the Cayuga Project.
One MnPASS lane in each direction would be constructed bringing the total number of lanes in each direction from three to four on the six-mile stretch of Interstate 35E, Kary said. The lanes would be open in 2015, he said.
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MnPASS lanes aim to encourage transit use and carpooling, and to manage traffic levels, he said.
“We’ve found historically as we add more general purpose lanes, they tend to go right back up again,” in traffic volume, Kary said.
The lanes also bring in money for the state. According to a MnDOT report provided to the Senate Transportation Committee, the current MnPASS lanes brought in $441,979 in revenue after expenses in 2010, and future profits are expected to be nearly $1 million in fiscal years 2012 and 2013.
The provision allowing the toll lanes made it into the Senate’s transportation bill, but not the House bill, Wiger said, so he’s watching to see whether it is included in the final version of the bill, which is currently in a conference committee.
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