Local Officials Hoping for Minnesota DOT Funding Help With Congested Intersection

Miguel Otárola reports from the Twin Cities region: "Officials across the west metro are asking state officials for funding to help alleviate traffic congestion at the Interstate 494 and I-35W interchange straddling Richfield and Bloomington."

In addition to infamous traffic congestion on every approach to the interchange, "the interchange consistently ranks as having one of the worst crash frequencies in the state," according to Otárola.

"In 2014, MnDOT came up with a $300 million redesign of the interchange that would remove most of the inner loops and improve traffic efficiency. Bloomington submitted the first phase of that redesign earlier this year to a MnDOT program called Corridors of Commerce that allocates funding for highway improvements," explains Otárola of the status of the project that could eventually bring change to the interchange. The Corridors of Commerce program is expected to allocated $400 million in funding by the end of the month.