MnDOT keeps extra lanes open on I-94

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MnDOT officials say the lanes added to Interstate 94 where the freeway crosses the Mississippi River in Minneapolis will remain in place.

Highway officials added a lane in each direction after the collapse of the 35W bridge in August 2007. The added lanes were an effort to accommodate increased traffic and reduce congestion because of the bridge collapse.

MnDOT engineer Wayne Norris says the additional lanes allowed daily traffic volumes to increase from 180,000 vehicles a day to more than 210,000 vehicles.

Norris says MnDOT continues to study the lanes to see if they can be extended between downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul as high-occupancy vehicle, or HOV, lanes. That decision is due by next summer.