Operational test of integrated corridor traffic management (ICTM) in the I-494 corridor : 34th Avenue South to East Bush Lake Road, cities of Bloomington, Richfield and Edina

The Minnesota Department of Transportation, Hennepin County, the Cities of Bloomington, Edina, Richfield, and private sector companies propose the Operational Test of an advanced traffic management system called Integrated Corridor Traffic Management (ICTM). The I-494 Corridor was chosen for the proposed test. The initial limits, from east to west, are 34th Avenue South and East Bush Lake Road. The north/south limits include the existing parallel routes formed by 76th-77th Streets on the north and 79th-80th Streets on the south.

Implementation of the proposed operational test will occur in four modules spanning a four year period. The approximate cost of each module ranges from $1.5 to $2.5 million. Each module will be evaluated for its effectiveness prior to the implementation of the successive module.

An integrated approach is needed to adequately handle current, short-term, and long-term travel demand in the I-494 Corridor. The I-494 Corridor Study found that no realistic I-494 mainline improvement would satisfy forecasted travel demand within the corridor without the development of a parallel arterial system. Studies associated with the preparation of the I-494 Draft EIS corroborated that finding. These same studies found that the average trip length on I-494 is less than two miles long. Redirection of these local/short trips to a convenient, continuous, more efficient parallel arterial will reduce delays, congestion, and the number and seventy of incidents on I-494.

The goal of the proposed demonstration of ICTM is to improve the efficiency of traffic movement throughout the I-494 Corridor. This will be achieved by applying a combination of traffic management strategies developed through inter-jurisdictional cooperation and coordination. These strategies will be applied to both the freeway and the adjacent arterial system.