Lowry Hill Tunnel
Encyclopedia
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
accommodating the Interstate 94
Interstate 94
Interstate 94 is the northernmost east–west Interstate Highway, connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain regions of the United States. I-94's western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S...
freeway near downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
that was completed in late 1971. It is placed at a near-right-angle turn in the highway, forcing the three lanes of traffic in each direction to slow down. The advised speed is 35 miles per hour (56 km/h).
Although constructed as a tunnel through rock, the surface a few yards above is covered with roadways. The tunnel functions as if it were the underpass under a quarter-mile (400 m) wide bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
which carries Hennepin Avenue
Hennepin Avenue
Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery , north through the Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the former "Bottleneck" area west of Loring Park, through the North Loop in the city center, to Northeast Minneapolis and...
, Lyndale Avenue
Lyndale Avenue
Lyndale Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center, Richfield, and Bloomington, Minnesota. A noncontinuous portion exists in Faribault, part of Highway 21...
, and various ramps over I-94.
It is a bottleneck due to its dog-leg turn, and various proposals have been made for dealing with it. In May 2005, one city engineer proposed restriping it to 4 lanes each direction. This would not help the slowdown, but would theoretically allow more cars through it at a given time. The tunnel is also a leading contender for a new high-occupancy toll lane using the MnPASS
MnPASS
MnPASS is an electronic toll collection system operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.The MnPASS transponder has a minimum first time charge of US$40, and there is a monthly fee of $1.50 to lease the transponder. Rush hour tolls for I-394 are usually between $1 and $4, though highly...
electronic toll collection
Electronic toll collection
Electronic toll collection , an adaptation of military "identification friend or foe" technology, aims to eliminate the delay on toll roads by collecting tolls electronically. It is thus a technological implementation of a road pricing concept...
system.
Some believe that Interstate 335
Interstate 335 (Minnesota)
Interstate 335 is a cancelled auxiliary Interstate route in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was planned to cross Northeast Minneapolis from I-35W south of Broadway to I-94 in North Minneapolis. Land was acquired and some demolition had proceeded when the road was defeated by local opposition.Interstate...
, a proposed but never built freeway north of downtown between I-94 and Interstate 35W
Interstate 35W (Minnesota)
Interstate 35W , is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Minnesota, passing through downtown Minneapolis. It is one of two through routes for Interstate 35 through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the other being Interstate 35E through downtown Saint Paul...
, would have alleviated the traffic problems in the tunnel. However, others have noted that the highway would not have benefited many drivers, particularly since the nearby interchange between I-35W and I-94 is missing certain links. There is no connection to carry southbound 35W traffic to eastbound 94, or westbound 94 traffic to northbound 35W, both of which would have been important flows if I-335 were to be successful.
