1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to transportation; authorizing construction 
  1.3             of additional lanes of travel on marked interstate 
  1.4             highway No. 394 in Minneapolis under certain 
  1.5             conditions; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 
  1.6             161.123. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 161.123, is 
  1.9   amended to read: 
  1.10     161.123 [HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION; PROHIBITIONS.] 
  1.11     Following May 31, 1975 the department of transportation 
  1.12  shall not cause any construction on, nor shall any lands be 
  1.13  acquired for, any of the trunk highways designated as I-335; 
  1.14  proposed I-394 between I-494 and the Hawthorne interchange; nor 
  1.15  for any extension or connector of the Dartmouth interchange of 
  1.16  the interstate route designated as I-94, except for a connection 
  1.17  from Fulton Avenue and Huron Street to University Avenue 
  1.18  Southeast and 25th Avenue Southeast generally via Huron Street 
  1.19  and 25th Avenue Southeast; nor shall the department construct or 
  1.20  improve Legislative Route No. 116, marked trunk highway route 
  1.21  No. 55, within the city of Minneapolis, to freeway or expressway 
  1.22  standards; provided, that nothing in this section shall be 
  1.23  construed to prohibit the department from taking the following 
  1.24  actions: 
  1.25     (1) Construction of a parkway facility of not more than 
  1.26  four lanes of traffic in the corridor previously designated for 
  2.1   I-335 in the city of Minneapolis. 
  2.2      (2) Construction of not more than six lanes of travel on 
  2.3   Legislative Routes No. 10 and No. 107 marked TH12 between I-494 
  2.4   and the Hawthorne interchange in the city of Minneapolis, 
  2.5   provided that no additional lands shall be acquired for any such 
  2.6   purpose except which is necessary for construction of six lanes 
  2.7   of travel on said highway.  Notwithstanding this restriction, 
  2.8   the commissioner may construct one additional lane on each 
  2.9   roadway of the highway at or near the interchange of the highway 
  2.10  with Penn Avenue, if (i) the interchange continues to have a 
  2.11  dedicated lane leading to the eastbound entrance ramp to the 
  2.12  highway; (ii) the commissioner erects an appropriate concrete 
  2.13  barrier on the westbound side of the highway between Wirth 
  2.14  Parkway and Penn Avenue to replace the existing fence, if no 
  2.15  noise barrier is erected at that location; (iii) the 
  2.16  commissioner conducts a study of constructing a park across and 
  2.17  above the freeway at its intersection with Penn Avenue, either 
  2.18  by expanding the Penn Avenue bridge to the west or by 
  2.19  constructing a new bridge; (iv) the commissioner, in 
  2.20  consultation and partnership with the metropolitan council, 
  2.21  designs and begins implementation of a program intended to 
  2.22  increase significantly the use of high-occupancy lanes on the 
  2.23  highway, with a goal of achieving an average occupancy rate of 
  2.24  1.6 persons per vehicle by 2000; (v) the commissioner develops, 
  2.25  jointly with the commissioner of public safety and the cities of 
  2.26  Minneapolis and Golden Valley, a policy for enforcing speed 
  2.27  limits and high-occupancy lane restrictions on the highway; (vi) 
  2.28  the commissioner adopts a goal of erecting continuous noise 
  2.29  barriers adjacent to the westbound roadway of the highway 
  2.30  between Wirth Parkway and Penn Avenue, and on the eastbound 
  2.31  roadway of the highway between Antoinette Avenue and Wirth 
  2.32  Parkway, and seeks the consent of all affected owners of 
  2.33  commercial property in an attempt to accomplish this goal; (vii) 
  2.34  the commissioner imposes a speed limit of not more than 45 miles 
  2.35  per hour on the highway between its interchange with marked 
  2.36  interstate highway No. 94 and the western limits of Minneapolis; 
  3.1   and (viii) the highway has a bituminous surface between its 
  3.2   interchange with marked interstate highway No. 94 and the 
  3.3   western limits of Minneapolis.  The commissioner may not 
  3.4   undertake any construction, reconstruction, or reconfiguration 
  3.5   of the highway unless the action has first been approved by the 
  3.6   metropolitan council. 
  3.7      (3) Generally utilizing and widening present lanes of 
  3.8   travel, increasing the number of lanes of travel up to but not 
  3.9   exceeding six lanes, and upgrading Legislative Route No. 116 
  3.10  within the city of Minneapolis generally along its present 
  3.11  traveled corridor. 
  3.12     (4) Preparation of any environmental impact statements, 
  3.13  recreational and other land use reports, and other elements of 
  3.14  the planning process required by federal and state law, 
  3.15  utilizing the most reasonably recent available data, on the 
  3.16  following: 
  3.17     Routes and corridors enumerated above and all feasible and 
  3.18  prudent alternate routes and corridors, giving the fullest 
  3.19  possible consideration to each, without regard to prior 
  3.20  authorization or to whether legislative approval or other action 
  3.21  is necessary.  In the preparation of such environmental impact 
  3.22  statements the commissioner shall analyze and evaluate: 
  3.23     (a) Design modifications which may mitigate any adverse 
  3.24  environmental impact; and 
  3.25     (b) The recommendations of the metropolitan council, 
  3.26  transportation advisory board, and interstate study committee as 
  3.27  reported to the legislature pursuant to Laws 1975, chapter 203, 
  3.28  section 16; and 
  3.29     (c) All other matters required of an environmental impact 
  3.30  statement by applicable state and federal laws. 
  3.31     Any highway facility authorized by this section shall be 
  3.32  compatible with the immediate residential areas through which it 
  3.33  passes.  Upon the completion of any highway facility authorized 
  3.34  herein, any right-of-way previously acquired within the utilized 
  3.35  corridor and not needed for the construction and maintenance of 
  3.36  such facility, shall be transferred to the city within which 
  4.1   such excess right-of-way is located, for public purposes, or 
  4.2   sold for utilization in a manner compatible with the immediate 
  4.3   residential area through which it passes, such excess 
  4.4   right-of-way being determined by order of the commissioner.  The 
  4.5   transfer shall be evidenced by a quit claim deed, in such form 
  4.6   as the attorney general approves, executed by the governor in 
  4.7   the name of the state of Minnesota to such city. 
  4.8      The commissioner of transportation shall consider a parkway 
  4.9   or other alternatives for that portion of the trunk highway 
  4.10  designated as I-35 or Route No. 390 in the city of Duluth.