MnDOT fills an E-ZPass lane gap in east metro

Drivers using the E-ZPass lane on northbound Interstate 35E can make a continuous trip from downtown St. Paul to the northeast suburbs now that the state Department of Transportation has connected a gap in the lane.

The agency this month converted a general traffic lane between Little Canada Road and County Road E to a high-occupancy toll lane (HOT) to eliminate driver confusion and keep violators from entering, said MnDOT spokeswoman Sue Gergen.

During rush hours, E-ZPass lanes are reserved for carpools carrying two or more occupants, buses and motorcycles. Solo drivers who pay a fee also are allowed to use them.

MnDOT opened the first segment of the northbound I-35E E-ZPass lane between Cayuga Street and Little Canada Road in 2015. The next year, the agency opened the segment from County Road E to County Road J in White Bear Lake. That left a 3-mile gap in the I-35E/I-694 commons where all lanes were open to all traffic during peak periods.

The break was a nuisance not found on the metro area's other E-ZPass lanes nor on many HOT lanes across the country.

In the mid-2000s, MnDOT completed the "Unweave the Weave" project in which the agency reconstructed the eastern I-694/I-35E interchange and added lanes along the 694/35E commons to eliminate weaving and lane changes. Since traffic flowed fairly freely, MnDOT, with the blessing of the Federal Highway Administration, saw the opportunity to test the impact of continuous and interrupted express lanes in a high capacity area.

For five years, MnDOT watched traffic flow and "southbound was working just great," Gergen said.

But between where the northbound lane drops at Little Canada and resumes at County Road E, "we noticed driver confusion and violators jumping into the lane," Gergen said.

With the break in the lane eliminated, the northbound E-ZPass lane will operate the same as the southbound HOT lane, which runs continuously from County Road 96 to downtown St. Paul.

"It is a change for motorists," Gergen said. "It will provide consistency."

Permit holders who book a behind-the-wheel test but don't show up to their appointment will be charged a $20 fee starting in November. The fee also will be assessed when a test-taker fails to cancel an appointment at least 24 hours in advance.

State law was amended during the past legislative session to allow for the fee. There have been 13,455 people who failed to show for a scheduled road test since January, according to the Department of Vehicle Services.

Roseville and Ramsey County will team up in 2022 to reconstruct the intersection of County Road B2 and Lexington Avenue.

Plans call for a new traffic signal and new dedicated left and right turn lanes on County Road B2 to better control traffic from nearby Roseville Area High School. The lack of turn lanes on County Road B2, combined with the high volume of school traffic, creates safety issues at the intersection, the county said.

Sight-line issues — caused by drivers passing on the right of a left turning vehicle — are believed to have been a factor in many of the 21 crashes that occurred at the intersection from 2013-2015, according to the county.

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