Rethinking I-94 debate renewed

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) continues to work on draft recommendations for the Rethinking I-94 project. After a long and contentious virtual meeting in January 2025 to discuss recommendations on the future of several options, project leaders are starting a series of community meetings.
The first “coffee in the community” meeting will be noon-2 p.m. Wednesday March 26 at Golden Thyme Café, 934 Selby Ave. Similar meetings throughout the area are planned in the future, with a “coffee in the community” gathering each month. Those will lead to an upcoming public comment period. Project staff will be attending community events and hosting public meetings during the summer and fall.
Rethinking I-94 is a long-term process to engage community members who live, work, commute and play along the 7.5-mile segment of I-94 between Hwy 55/Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis and Marion Street in St. Paul. Rethinking I-94 is meant to address identified transportation needs while ensuring community members and stakeholders have a meaningful voice in the process.
In January the project’s policy advisory committee reviewed initial staff recommendations as to what options to keep and which to drop. What generated much debate is a proposal to fill in the freeway trench and rebuild I-94 as an at-grade boulevard. While proponents see the at-grade option as restoring property for community use, reducing air pollution and spreading traffic impacts elsewhere, foes point out that it would cost an estimated $2.4 billion to $3.2 billion, compared to $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion to reconfigure the freeway within its existing footprint.
“In early spring 2025, we will finish evaluating the alternatives and document the results. We will share the recommendations and supporting documents, including an Alternatives Evaluation Memo and matrix summarizing the evaluation results, with the public,” MnDOT said in a Feb. 25 statement.
Work on a scoping document/draft scoping decision is an anticipated to start in the spring and continue into fall, with another public comment period in late fall. A resulting document will recommend alternatives for further study in the Tier 1 EIS or environmental impact statement. A final scoping decision document will take shape during winter 2025 until spring 2026. It will include a record of the comments received during the public comment period and responses to the comments. After the final scoping decision document is complete, MnDOT will move into the Tier 1 EIS phase of the project.
Learn more at https://talk.dot.state.mn.us/rethinking-i94