Duluth residents weigh in on 'can of worms'

Removing blind merges, left-hand exits and short sections that force drivers to weave across lanes to get where they're going ought to be the highest priorities during the planned reconstruction of the can of worms, say the vast majority of responses to a 2017 Minnesota Department of Transportation survey.

All told, 71 percent of responses pinpointed a need to correct blind merges and other driving anomalies as the project's biggest priority. The survey drew almost 900 responses from the local public.

Less congestion, better freight movement and the removal of the traffic light at the convergence of Interstate 35 with U.S. Highway 53 and I-535 were the next highest priorities — all receiving 8 percent or less of the responses.

Duluth-based project manager Roberta Dwyer of MnDOT released the survey results at the request of the News Tribune last week. She said she was more than pleased with the number of responses.

"There is a lot of support for the project," Dwyer said. "The survey was confirmation of all the things we've been talking about."

The local MnDOT office is in the process of designing and planning for an estimated $205 million reconstruction of what is formally known as the Twin Ports Interchange. Work is scheduled to begin in 2019. Rebuilding the stretch of I-35 through the interchange would come in phases across multiple construction seasons.

Duane Hill, MnDOT's district engineer in Duluth, said last week that "internal (MnDOT) processes have identified about $100 million in funding so far." He added that MnDOT is still waiting to hear back about a pair of federal grant applications which would supply additional funding.

The can of worms moniker refers to the series of curving ramps and elevated sections of freeway through the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Duluth. The interchange is characterized by cumbersome and even potentially dangerous merges for drivers. The News Tribune has previously reported that in the five years through 2015, there were almost 500 crashes at or in the vicinity of the interchange, making it one of the most hazardous zones on the entirety of I-35 between Minnesota and Texas.

The online survey was open for about a month beginning in November. It was accompanied by a corresponding "comment section," which drew 339 participants. Only 19 responses, roughly 5 percent, said MnDOT ought to leave the can of worms alone and do nothing.

"It's fine the way it is," said one anonymous respondent quoted in the MnDOT survey.

Multiple respondents identified the southbound I-35 exit onto Highway 53 heading north as a particular troublespot. It's a narrow runway which forces drivers exiting I-35 to yield to traffic coming from behind them and over their shoulders.

"The merge from southbound I-35 to northbound Hwy. 53 is particularly hairy," said one anonymous respondent. "I've had more than one close call due to lack of visibility at that merge."

"Sight lines are terrible!" said another respondent.

"Merging is blind and tight with no wiggle room," said yet another.

A volley of other comments dealt with a variety of other issues, including better signage and lighting, improvements for freight traffic, greater access into the Lincoln Park neighborhood, more thought given to pedestrians and bicyclists, and the elimination of the stop lights where all three highways merge.

"Encountering the traffic signal in this (way) is always unexpected," said one respondent.

The survey will be discussed Monday as part of twin day-night project updates MnDOT is set to host at the Duluth Folk School in Lincoln Park.

Dwyer said regular updates are necessary because public demand for news on the project is high.

"We're getting great feedback and people are very engaged," she said. "We've been getting calls because we haven't had anything since November."

MnDOT is considering a number of concepts to rebuild the interchange, and almost nothing at this point has been ruled out. One concept that is already being tinkered with is the extension of Courtland Street, Dwyer said.

Extending Courtland to connect with Railroad Street would create a new artery from the west into downtown and Canal Park. The thought is that such an outlet would help reduce the I-35 congestion which occurs during events such as Bentleyville.

"We're trying to find the correct route for Courtland," Dwyer said. "In one option, it went through the middle of the railyard and that is not real acceptable to rail operation." Different alignments would take the Courtland extension closer to I-35 and away from the switching and busier parts of the railyard.

Whatever comes, now is the time for the public to stay engaged, Dwyer said, adding, "We want to keep people involved and continue to receive feedback while we're looking at options."

Twin Ports Interchange update

When: Twin events on Monday; one from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and another from 6-7 p.m.

Where: Duluth Folk School, 1917 W. Superior St.

What: Formal presentations followed by time to view concepts and learn more about the project from MnDOT planners