Interstate 35E (Minnesota) - Route Description

Route Description

The southern terminus of I-35E is at exit 88A in Burnsville, where I-35 splits into I-35E and I-35W. While I-35W heads north into Minneapolis, I-35E takes a northeasterly path into Saint Paul. There is no access between I-35E and I-35W here, but Dakota County Road 42 (exit 88B), immediately to the north, connects the two Interstates in Burnsville. Major interchanges south of Saint Paul include State Highway 77 (MN 77, signed as Cedar Avenue—exit 92) at Apple Valley – Eagan and Interstate 494 (exit 99) in Mendota Heights. Between exits 94 and 97, the highway deviates from its relatively straight path to avoid Blackhawk Lake. As it crosses I-494, I-35E turns more to the north, crossing MN 110 (exit 101) and MN 13 (exit 102) in Mendota Heights before crossing the Mississippi River on the Lexington Bridge into the city of Saint Paul. This portion of I-35E is four lanes wide (two in each direction), except between MN 77 and MN 110, where it carries six lanes. The Lexington Bridge carries six lanes—four through lanes and the exit and entrance lanes for MN 13—as well as a bicycle and pedestrian path. The bridge has an innovative automatic anti-icing system that sprays potassium acetate onto the bridge surface to prevent frost and ice formation in inclement weather.

The auxiliary lanes from MN 13 leave at the first exit in Saint Paul, a half interchange with Shepard Road (exit 103A) with ramps toward the bridge. Shepard Road is a four-lane roadway with minimal intersections that follows the Mississippi River northeast into downtown Saint Paul. Immediately after Shepard Road is MN 5 (West 7th Street) (exit 103B), which leads northeast to downtown through the heart of the West Seventh neighborhood. The portion of I-35E between MN 5 and downtown is a mostly sunken four-lane parkway with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) (this portion is sometimes referred to as the "practice freeway" by locals), a ban on trucks over 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) gross vehicle weight, and median landscaping. This parkway was built instead of a typical six-lane freeway because of local opposition. Major interchanges on this section include Ayd Mill Road (exit 104B), a sunken four-lane road to the northwest, and Kellogg Boulevard (exit 106B), which extends in both directions as part of a loop around downtown.

The four lanes of I-35E pass through downtown Saint Paul in the center of the six lanes of I-94, with a short overlap occupying the blocks between 11th and 12th streets. Despite this short overlap, there is no weaving between the two highways, since an exit in each direction of I-35E—exit 107A from I-35E north to I-94 east, and exit 107B from I-35E south to I-94 west—takes traffic that would move to the right in the overlap instead to the right of the entire roadway. There are no interchanges on the common segment, and no direct access from I-35E northbound to I-94 west or I-94 eastbound to I-35E south. Kellogg Boulevard provides an indirect connection; Ayd Mill Road, further west, nears I-94 but does not connect without several turns and traffic lights. Unlike the west split of I-35E and I-94, all ramps are present at the east split; among other uses, the I-35E southbound to I-94 east and I-94 westbound to I-35E north ramps carry traffic following US Highway 10 (US 10), which overlaps I-35E north of downtown, and truck traffic using the nearby Lafayette Freeway (US 52) to avoid the parkway through the West Seventh neighborhood.

From downtown Saint Paul north to the junction with I-694 west (exit 113) in Little Canada, where US 10 also leaves I-35E, the highway carries three lanes of traffic in each direction. Major interchanges here include Pennsylvania Avenue (exit 108), another part of the loop that includes Kellogg Boulevard, and MN 36 (exit 111). An overlap of about one mile (1.5 km) exists between the two interchanges with I-694 (exits 113 and 115); unlike the one with I-94, traffic must weave to remain on either road. Heading northbound on I-35E, the three lanes split into two for I-694 westbound and two for I-35E northbound, and then one lane from I-694 eastbound enters on the left. These three lanes then split into two on the right for I-694 eastbound and two on the left for I-35E northbound; after the turn north, a lane joins on the right from I-694 westbound traffic. Thus through traffic on I-694 eastbound must move right at least one lane, and only the center lane of I-35E north continues through. The configuration in the other direction, where I-35E southbound and I-694 westbound merge, is similar, but two lanes of I-694 westbound enter the merge, and the rightmost of the two I-35E lanes ends, so all I-35E south traffic must move at least one lane to the left, while the right lane of I-694 west can continue straight through. A four-year construction project, called "Unweave the Weave" beginning in 2004, was completed in 2008, to eliminate this weaving in a similar method to the I-94 overlap, with three I-35E lanes inside three I-694 lanes, and separate right-side ramps from I-35E to I-694.

I-35E is four lanes wide north of I-694; the third lane added northbound from the I-694 westbound ramp exits immediately onto County Road E (exit 115) in Vadnais Heights. Other than the northern terminus of I-35E (exit 127) in Columbus near Forest Lake, where it merges with I-35W to re-form I-35, there are only four interchanges on I-35E north of I-694 between Vadnais Heights and Columbus, all for county roads.