The surest sign that we’re on the back side of winter is that construction on I-94 is getting ready to resume and, as the project enters its fourth and final year in mid-April, all the remaining work is going to be taking place in Wright County.
The Hennepin County portion of the project from Rogers to Maple Grove was finished in 2021, leaving several smaller projects to complete in 2022. Among those are:
- Add a lane on westbound I-94 between Highway 241 in St. Michael and Wright County Road 19 in Albertville and add a lane on eastbound I-94 between Highway 241 in St. Michael and Wright County Road 19 in Albertville – making a total of three lanes of traffic.
- Add a lane of I-94 in both directions between Highway 25 in Monticello and Highway 24 in Clearwater. There are currently three non-concrete-surfaced lanes between Wright County Highway 8 in Hasty and Highway 24 in Clearwater, but those will be concrete surfaced this year.
- Replace the Highway 241 bridge over I-94 and improve access. This will entail constructing a roundabout at Highway 241 and O’Day Avenue in St. Michael.
- Improvements to the parking lot and sidewalks at the Enfield Rest Area.
In a note, part of the original construction was to include replacement of the westbound I-94 bridge over Wright County Road 19 in Albertville. However, that portion of the project has been delayed until it can be replaced with a three-lane structure.
The I-94 project has been a long one that has created traffic issues for three years, but the good news is that, by September, the project will finally be completed and will include 21 miles of three-lane traffic in both directions that weren’t there when the project started.