Rethinking I-94 — Minneapolis to St. Paul

We are in the process of reviewing and preparing responses to all comments that were submitted on the Scoping Document / Draft Scoping Decision Document (SD/DSDD) and the state Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) during the public comment period. We expect to post the final Scoping Decision Document and Findings of Fact and Conclusions (FOFC) document for the EAW, including responses to comments received, on the project website later in 2026.

In September 2025, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) received feedback and concurrence (support) from Cooperating Agencies on the Alternatives Evaluation Memo. Cooperating Agencies are federal agencies that assist with the environmental review process. The memo was also shared with Participating Agencies — other federal, state, and local agencies with an interest in the project — for their information.

The Alternatives Evaluation Memo identifies recommended alternatives to move forward for further study in the next phase of the project, the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Alternatives recommended to advance include: No Build, Maintenance B, Reduced Freeway and Reconfigured Freeway.

MnDOT prepared a draft of the SD/DSDD and shared it with Cooperating and Participating agencies for review and comment. An Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) was prepared and shared with Participating agencies for comment. MnDOT incorporated their comments into the documents and provided an update on these documents to Community Leaders and the Policy Advisory Committee.

The SD/DSDD and EAW were released for official public comment from January 6 – March 23, 2026. MnDOT hosted official public meetings (in-person and virtual) to collect comments on the documents.

The evaluation process and alternatives webpage is currently being updated and will be available again in mid‑September. You can learn more about the alternatives with the alternative handouts. Once the webpage updates are complete, you can learn more about the alternatives, the evaluation of alternatives and the four alternatives moving forward for further study in the Tier 1 EIS.

Phase 1 (2016-2018)

Prior to the start of the federal and state environmental processes, we engaged with communities along I-94 and listened to what people had to say about their transportation needs and desires.

We heard from the community members that there is interest in transportation and making improvements to I-94. We also heard that community members had interests and desires beyond transportation that should be considered by MnDOT and others when making road improvements.

Comments and input collected between 2016 and 2018 helped MnDOT create the project’s Purpose and Need, Statement of Goals, Evaluation Criteria and Alternatives.

View Phase 1 reports for more information.

Phase 2 (2018-2028)

Community engagement has been consistent throughout Phase 2. MnDOT engaged with the community in 2023 to support the release of the ten alternatives we developed. MnDOT engaged again with the community to define the four alternatives moving forward and to complete the SD/DSDD. MnDOT released the state EAW and the SD/DSDD for public comment from January 6 – March 23, 2026.

View Rethinking I-94 Phase 2 community engagement summaries for more information.

Upcoming

Information about upcoming meetings and events will be provided as details become available.

Past

Feb. 19, 2026: In-person public meeting, Wilder Foundation, St. Paul

• Meeting information: same information used for the Jan. 29 and Feb. 4 meetings

Feb. 4, 2026: Virtual public meeting

• Virtual public meeting summary (PDF)

Jan. 29, 2026: In-person public meeting, Wilder Foundation, St. Paul

View previous 2021-2025 meetings

Public meeting accommodations

MnDOT invites and encourages participation by all people in their programs, services and activities. If you need an ASL, a foreign language interpreter, or documents in an alternative format (such as braille, large print or in a different language) at no cost, please email your request to Janet Miller at ADArequest.dot@state.mn.us(External link) or call 651-366-4720. Relay service: 711.

If you need any other reasonable accommodation to participate (such as seating modification or auxiliary aids), please email your request to Accessibility.DOT@state.mn.us(External link) or call 1-833-400-8432. Relay service: 711.

MnDOT worked with local and federal agency partners and working groups to evaluate the alternatives. MnDOT shared these results with the public in late fall 2025. You can learn more about the alternatives with the alternative handouts. Information about the four alternatives moving forward into Tier 1 recommendations will be available on the evaluation process and alternatives website once the updates are finished in mid-September.

Rethinking I-94 Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation criteria have been developed for the Scoping Document (SD) and Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) phases of Rethinking I-94. This is the first step of the alternative evaluation process. The criteria used in the SD and Tier 1 EIS were developed concurrently for review and general agreement. Following Scoping, the Tier 1 EIS evaluation will be reassessed to refine criteria as needed.

Learn more about the evaluation criteria and how the alternatives were evaluated by watching the Evaluation Criteria video. The webpage with more information about the evaluation criteria and the evaluation of alternatives is temporarily unavailable due to updates. In mid‑September you’ll be able to explore and learn more once the site is back online.

Community histories

A part of Rethinking I-94’s environmental review process is to evaluate the effects to historic properties. This evaluation is required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. One of the first steps in the Section 106 process is to develop historic contexts for areas impacted by a project. More information on this process is available on our Cultural Resources Unit website.

Previously, most studies left gaps in the history of neighborhoods, trends, and groups in the area. Most existing historic contexts stop shortly after World War II and do not address the resource types and architectural styles developed from the post-war period to the present. Existing studies also focus primarily on white, Euro-American history with little to no mention of other racial, ethnic, and social communities. A priority of the Rethinking I-94 historic contexts is to address those gaps, creating a more inclusive understanding of the area’s history and what resources may be eligible for the National Register. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.

Report and summaries

We have written community histories that are more inclusive than past documentation. The community histories report is available for reading in individual chapters or short summaries. The contexts are separated into individual sections. Some are geographically based and discuss the historic development of specific neighborhoods. Others are thematic and cover a resource type or community history across the area.

MnDOT’s Cultural Resources Unit will be using the histories in future project review steps. We hope the community histories are also useful for the public, cities, counties, and others interested in better understanding the histories of the communities near I-94.

Some facts from the histories

The following items are just a few highlighted facts.

University Avenue at Vandalia Avenue in 1953, with four travel lanes and paired streetcar tracks set in cobblestone ("University Avenue at Vandalia Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota," 1953. Collection of the Minnesota Streetcar Museum

• At the dawn of the automobile era, a heavily used street in Minneapolis and Saint Paul might be surfaced with brick, concrete, asphalt, or cobblestone, but side streets might not be paved. The rapid rise of the automobile – from approximately 55,000 nationwide in 1904 to one-half million in 1910—helped to catalyze county, state, and eventually federal efforts to create better roads. Read more in the Transportation chapter.

• The Cedar Riverside neighborhood is historically one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. Originally the port of entry for an influx of Scandinavian immigrants, the neighborhood has maintained its status as an immigrant hub since the late nineteenth century. Today is home to a sizeable Somali population. Read more in the Cedar Riverside chapter.
• Union Park began not as a residential neighborhood but as an amusement park. In the early 1880s, businessmen Herman Grote and John O. Hinkel saw an opportunity to create a picturesque “pleasure resort” that “could be reached at any and all hours of the day, and which combined natural beauty and attractions with the conveniences of the city. The development had a 33-acre park with a dance pavilion, bandstand, and many attractions and events. At the height of its popularity, it boasted a one-day attendance of 10,000 visitors. Read more in the Union Park District chapter.
• The American Indian Movement—a nationwide civil rights movement was founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Read more in the American Indians in the Twin Cities chapter.
• Approximately 433 houses were demolished and 300 businesses were closed or torn down in the Rondo neighborhood for the construction of I-94, and 72 percent of those were owned or occupied by Black people. Read more in the Rondo chapter.

Rondo Commemorative Plaza (4RM+ULA)

• The Minnesota Historical Society nominated Milwaukee Avenue to be included on the National Register of Historic Places for significance related to architecture and social history. On May 2, 1974, the street was officially designated as a place of national significance as the Milwaukee Avenue Historic District. Read more in the Seward chapter.

House at 2125 Milwaukee Avenue in the Milwaukee Avenue Historic District, looking southeast, 2015. On the lefthand side of the image, two pedestrian walkways flank either side of what used to be East Twenty-second Street bisecting the district.

• By 1882, Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis was one of the largest Presbyterian churches in the United States at nearly two thousand members. Read more in the Places of Worship chapter.
• During World War II, the Saint Anthony Park area was vital in manufacturing and shipping wartime products. As the war ended, construction boomed once more. Glendenning Motorways opened a new truck terminal at Pelham and Wabash Avenues. By 1951, the Midway Club estimated that more than fifty motor freight companies were in the district, as well as garages and service facilities to maintain the truck fleets. Read more in the St. Anthony Park chapter.
• Most nineteenth-century development in the western part of the Study Area was single-family houses and or duplexes. Duplexes are widespread on the 1912 Sanborn maps. As the population of Minneapolis increased rapidly from the late nineteenth century onward, new higher-density apartment buildings helped meet demand. The apartment construction boom began around the turn of the century and continued until the start of the Great Depression. Prior to 1890, nearly 90 percent of Minneapolitans lived in single-family homes or duplexes; by 1930, the number of multi-family units had increased sevenfold, and more than 18 percent of the city’s residents lived in apartments. Read more in the Minneapolis Neighborhoods before the Interstate chapter.
• The funeral industry was a path for Black entrepreneurs to own their own businesses and become community leaders during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Multiple Black-owned funeral homes in Minneapolis and Saint Paul were operated by married couples, making this field one of the few avenues for Black women to lead businesses. Read more in the Black History in the I-94 Corridor chapter.

Bird’s eye view of South Minneapolis in 1879, looking southwest from a point above the University of Minnesota’s East Bank Campus across the Mississippi River toward the intersection of Franklin Avenue (green) and Cedar Avenue (purple), with Riverside Avenue (red) in the foreground; the approximate Study Area is shaded in yellow (J.J. Stoner, “View of South Minneapolis, 1879,” [Madison, Wis: Beck and Pauli, 1879].

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Rondo neighborhood historic field study

Purpose of historic field surveys

Federal laws require agencies to consider historic properties for any project using federal funds. You can learn more about this regulation by reviewing A Citizen’s Guide to Section 106 Review. For Rethinking I-94, MnDOT needs to know where the historic properties are along I-94. Historians identified the Rondo neighborhood as an area that needs more study due to its unique history and the impacts the construction of I-94 had on the community in the 1960s. The information collected during the historic field survey helped guide the development of alternatives for I-94. MnDOT’s Cultural Resources Unit (CRU) led this historic field survey.

Information for community partners and residents

Reconnect Rondo, the Rondo Roundtable, the Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, and Saint Paul public services were informed of the historic field survey. MnDOT staff mailed postcards to residents in the Rondo neighborhood and placed posters at community locations to raise awareness of the field survey.

Results

Architectural historians used the information they gathered during this historic field survey to develop a historic context, or a history of the neighborhood, for the area. The historic context helped us determine that the Rondo neighborhood is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

MnDOT will not formally list properties on the National Register during this process. If you are interested in listing your own house or building, contact the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office. For local designation information, contact the Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission.

Contacts

For more information, contact Kristen Zschomler with MnDOT's Cultural Resources Unit at kristen.zschomler@state.mn.us or 612-499-5080.

Committee process

Technical documents that form the basis of the Scoping Decision Document are developed by project staff then reviewed by committee before review by the broader public.

1. Share existing, background and reference information: MnDOT staff and consultant project team members review background and reference information collected during Phase 1 or provided by city and county project partners.
2. Data collection and analysis:
   Project team members identify what new data is needed. For example, new traffic data can be collected on the interstate, entrance or exits ramps, or adjacent street network. The team collects and analyzes the data.
3. Discuss assumptions and rough framework: The project team discusses any assumptions made in the analysis and starts to develop a rough framework of the technical document.
4. Draft for Technical Advisory Committee: A draft is shared with the Technical Advisory Committee for review and comment. Engineering and planning staff from MnDOT, Federal Highway Administration, Ramsey County, Hennepin County, City of Minneapolis, City of St. Paul, and other government entities serve on the Technical Advisory Committee. The committee provides technical advice to the project team.
5. Coordination with Policy and Planning Committee Working Group: Coordination of technical information with the Community Goals occurs at the Policy and Planning Committee (PPC). The PPC focuses on potential strategies for implementing the Community Goals developed during Phase 1 (sense of place, connectivity, economic vitality, access to transportation, safety/security, and quality of life for the communities that live, work, and play there). Professional planning staff from MnDOT, Federal Highway Administration, Ramsey County, Hennepin County, City of Minneapolis, City of St. Paul, and other government entities serve on the PPC.
6. Revisions: At each step in the process the project team is taking in feedback and revising the draft.
7. Engagement with Cooperating and Participating Agencies: The draft is shared with the Cooperating and Participating Agencies. This is a process requirement under the National Environmental Policy Act. Cooperating agencies are Federal agencies, other than the lead agency, with jurisdiction. Participating agencies are those with an interest in the project. Their roles are defined by the Council on Environmental Quality which oversees the NEPA implementation.
8. Revisions: The project team presents information, receives feedback, and revises the draft.
9. Engagement with Community Leaders: The draft and/or staff developed education materials and questions are shared with community leaders to gather initial feedback on the information, the presentation of the information, and the plan for gathering broader public feedback. The Community Leaders, formerly Community Advisors, includes leaders from community organizations representing neighborhoods, business interests, and cultural associations.
10. Revisions: The project team presents information, receives feedback, and revises the draft.
11. Recommendations to Policy Advisory Committee: The project team presents the draft to the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC). The PAC consists of elected and appointed officials who provide decision direction. Current PAC members include; MnDOT Commissioner, Federal Highway Administration Minnesota Division, Metropolitan Council (Committee Co-Chair), County Commissioners, Mayor and City Council Members, and State Senators and Representatives.
12. Revisions: The project team presents information, receives feedback, and revises the draft.
13. Engagement with broader public: The project team presents the technical information to the public in both its technical document form and in plain language format. Technical information and format are available on request. Engagement opportunities will be online and in-person using various tools. These will be opportunities for the project team to learn from the community’s lived experiences.
14. Revisions: The project team presents information, receives feedback, and revises the draft.
15. Report back to PAC; Continuing analysis and engagement as needed: The project team reports back to the PAC following the broader public engagement. Analysis, revision, and further engagement continue. The technical information becomes a base for the Scoping Decision Document that also flows through the committee and public review cycles.

Community Leaders

About

Community Leaders help to identify opportunities for information sharing and two-way communication related to the Rethinking I-94 project. As a liaison to the community on behalf of the project, Community Leaders serve as an information resource and connection point between lead agencies and the community-at-large. As such, Community Leaders also serve the project as a resource in sharing their community insights and experiences as it relates to I-94.

In addition, Community Leaders assist with the following activities:

• Provide community insight on communications and engagement strategies related to the project
• Engage community members and stakeholders that are not currently engaged, but should be
• Report what is being said on the ground and share community concerns with MnDOT
• Provide factual and current project information to community members
• Help identify potential issues and strategies to mitigate the impact of Rethinking I-94 on residents and businesses
• Contribute to establishing a shared vision for the corridor and to the implementation of the vision

Membership of the Community Leaders group requires that an individual from the community or a group of individuals from an organization (limit two):

• Provide information back to MnDOT regarding the community members in which you have engaged, and the issues discussed on a regular basis
• Attend quarterly Community Leader meetings hosted by MnDOT
• Engage and participate in other project-related meetings and updates
• Help with sharing accurate information regarding the project

Members of the Community Leaders group are not responsible for:

• Serving as an official decision-maker regarding the project
• Acting as the primary contact for project outreach or presentations
• Serving as a spokesperson or media contact

Community Leaders must be affiliated with a community organization or business that interfaces with community members or serves community needs. There is a limit of two individuals from the same community organization or business. The insight Community Leaders provide is invaluable to the Rethinking I-94 project, but no Community Leader is expected to serve as a sole voice on behalf of any one community. MnDOT recognizes that within any one community or organization, members share different perspectives. To ensure a diverse set of community voices, interests, and stakeholders are represented, membership to the Community Leaders group is subject to review and approval by MnDOT. Completion and maintenance of a Membership Profile Form is required.

Membership

If you or a member of your organization meet the criteria above and wish to participate in the Community Leaders program, please complete the membership profile form and a representative of MnDOT will follow up with you.

View the current Community Leaders members list (PDF).

View past meeting summaries

View past meeting summaries

Working Groups

Phase 2 monthly meetings recap

• Transit Working Group (PDF)
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Working Group (PDF)
• Traffic Working Group (PDF)
• Environmental Working Group (PDF)
• Policy and Planning Advisory Committee (PDF)
• Technical Advisory Committee (PDF)
• Joint Technical Advisory Committee and Policy and Planning Advisory Committee (PDF)
• Cooperating and Participating Agencies (PDF)
• Bridge Working Group (PDF)

Rethinking I-94 looks to address identified transportation needs and to enhance connectivity. In doing so, Rethinking I-94 works to ensure residents have meaningful input in transportation decisions that affect their lives.

Connectivity

Connectivity is a component of mobility. It describes how the number and quality of connections within a transportation network allow for all users—people walking, rolling, biking, using transit and driving—to travel from place to place. In the context of Rethinking I-94, connectivity describes the number of opportunities to access I-94 via interchange ramps for vehicles and to travel over and/or under I-94 via crossings for all users.

The I-94 corridor

The I-94 corridor is one of Minnesota’s most frequently traveled corridors and supports a variety of multimodal transportation needs. In addition, communities along the Rethinking I-94 project corridor play a critical role in the institutional and cultural fabric of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. These diverse and vibrant neighborhoods are home to 35,000 residents, 1,300 businesses, and 24,000 employees, and dozens of ethnicities and languages. The corridor also is home to The University of Minnesota, six other colleges, numerous primary and secondary schools, hospitals, entertainment venues, and sports stadiums.

Phase 1 (2016-2018)

A two-year technical research study and supporting engagement activities performed to establish the foundation for future planning and project work.

Public engagement toolkit

The Rethinking I-94 public engagement toolkit (PDF) is an adaptable process that guides MnDOT's project team public engagement.

Zone profiles

MnDOT divided the corridor into six zones based on anticipated future design and construction projects. These Rethinking I-94 Zone Profiles (PDF) include information about demographics, survey responses, community organizations, events, local media and elected officials.

Community culture and history overviews

Rethinking I-94 community culture and overviews (PDF) provide historical and cultural background about stakeholders along the I-94 corridor, as well as provides information about broader cultural characteristics and their history of engagement with transportation and planning issues in the Twin Cities.

Rethinking I-94 Phase 1 reports

Rethinking I-94 Phase 1 report (PDF) details two years of technical research and engagement activity on the corridor that established the foundation for future planning and project work.

• Executive summary (PDF): Documents Phase 1 activities, results, and outlines next steps.
• Community summary (PDF): Outlines current highway conditions, learnings from the community, and next steps.

Phase 2 (2018-2028+)

The environmental process for Rethinking I-94 Phase 2 involves three main steps. At each step, the public will have chances to provide feedback and comments. Initially, overarching questions need to be addressed to understand what is achievable and to ensure all concerns are considered before moving on to more specific design details.

Step one: Scoping (Rethinking I-94 is currently in this step.)

This process identifies the basic alternatives that will move forward into the next stage of environmental review. We anticipate being in Scoping for the next year. Little detail on alternatives will be developed at this step. For example, the alternatives will have different roadway types, number and type of lanes, and transit service types, but limited details on potential changes to frontage roads, interchanges, or pedestrian and bicycle crossings. The Scoping Document also proposes evaluation criteria for alternatives in the Tier 1 EIS and outlines the level of detail to which each potential social, economic, and environmental issue will be addressed.

Learn more about the Rethinking I-94 alternatives.

Step two: Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

This step will choose a preferred footprint, including roadway type (freeway or non-freeway), the number and type of travel lanes, and type of transit and associated stops. This step will also identify potential improvements to interchanges/intersections (multiple concepts will be developed) in the project area and general locations for pedestrian and bicycle facilities. A visual impact assessment will be completed to help identify unique elements of the surrounding communities that could be incorporated into future projects, such as landscaping, bridge treatments and more. The Tier 1 EIS follows Scoping and is anticipated to take two to three years to complete.

Step three: Tier 2 environmental documents

The final step in the process is for individual projects that are to be constructed. Greater details will be provided about interchanges, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, transit stops, landscaping, lighting, noise walls, parking, and other roadway elements. Each project included in the program of projects will require a deeper level of design and the preparation of an individual environmental document. The Tier 2 environmental documents will focus on addressing specific project impacts at individual project locations within the corridor. At this stage, all design details necessary to prepare the projects for construction will be addressed. As designs become more detailed, potential opportunities for improved streetscaping (trees/vegetation, lighting, etc.), public art, and other uses of right of way will be better understood.

All MnDOT projects - both new construction and rehabilitation projects - must include evaluation to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Components can include, but are not limited to adding curb cuts, truncated domes and accessible pedestrian signals. Read about MnDOT's transition plan to comply with the ADA.

Specifics for this project

• Rethinking I-94, between Minneapolis and St. Paul, aims to enhance facilities for all modes of transportation and improve connectivity leading to and across the I-94 corridor. This includes building new and enhancing existing pedestrian and bike facilities in the I-94 corridor. Specific concepts will be developed later in the project process.
• Improvements will also focus on existing ADA facilities and providing for additional accessible facilities where they are needed. The input of all I-94 community members, organizations, stakeholders and leaders will be vital. Information on ADA improvements will be available later in the project process.