The Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution encouraging the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to study more options for the redesign of Interstate 94 (I-94).

In the resolution, the council members said MnDOT should review the report from Our Streets Minneapolis, a grassroots organization focused on transportation and infrastructure, before the scoping phase. 

This resolution is part of the Rethinking I-94 project, which started in 2016 to improve the I-94 highway. Currently, MnDOT has 10 alternative plans for the highway.

MnDOT spokesperson Ricardo Lopez said that in the scoping phase, MnDOT will evaluate alternative design options based on criteria like environmental impact, feasibility and meeting project goals.

Additionally, the resolution recommends I-94 scoping decisions to choose a plan that will not expand the freeway. 

One of the alternative designs would remove the freeway and dedicate one lane to bus rapid transit. Another option would be to rebuild the freeway to add a new lane for buses and carpooling. 

Council Member Robin Wonsley (Ward 2) said in a statement that local residents want the I-94 project to focus on adding multimodal boulevards. 

“The City of Minneapolis has the chance to rethink I-94, and my residents have been clear with me that they want a city that repairs the harms this highway has committed,” Wonsley said in the statement. 

Joe Harrington, a transportation expert for Our Streets Minneapolis, said MnDOT’s evaluation criteria leave out important voices from the community.  He said MnDOT needs to evaluate alternatives based on air quality, public health, walkability and sense of place. 

“MnDOT’s process is advancing in a way that leaves the same voices out in this process,” Harrington said. “So, it really is thinking about how to improve the project’s evaluation process to more accurately measure and prioritize the impacts on adjacent neighborhoods.” 

Yasmin Hirsi, advocacy coordinator for Our Streets Minneapolis said the resolution shows the city council is listening to those most affected by the project. 

Lopez said MnDOT is listening to the input made by the city council and community members at large.

“MnDOT appreciates the continued interest from stakeholders in the broader community about this important transportation project. We’re working with partners from federal, state and local agencies to evaluate the alternatives,” Lopez said. 

I-94’s racial history

Rethinking I-94 is part of a larger effort to reconnect predominantly Black neighborhoods after decades of highway construction in the mid-to-late 1900s that displaced Black communities. 

When I-94 was built in 1953, the freeway first went through multiple neighborhoods in Minneapolis, according to MNopedia. The Prospect Park East River Association unsuccessfully fought to move the construction to 26th Street. 

The freeway’s construction went predominantly through Black neighborhoods like Rondo in Saint Paul and Prospect Park in Minneapolis. According to MNopedia, around 430 houses were demolished and 300 businesses were destroyed.

Erin Que, the senior city planner in historic preservation for the City of Minneapolis, said Rondo never recovered. 

“Especially in the Rondo community, we know that the interstate cut through the heart of this area that was home to a thriving Black community in Saint Paul, and it separated the north side of the neighborhood from the south side of the neighborhood,” Que said. 

The highway still affects residents today. According to Our Streets Minneapolis report, residents near highways are 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized with asthma. 

Que said the Rethinking I-94 Project can help people remember what was lost while going forward. 

“There’s a chance to recognize that history in an as-of-yet undetermined way, while we also imagine how we can better serve the people of our communities who travel this corridor, either on foot or bike or car or bus or train,” Que said. 

Harrington said a successful redesign will help future generations flourish in the diverse and formerly devastated neighborhoods.

“We want to be able to uplift community ideas and amplify dreams and hold decision-makers accountable to make sure that the Twin Cities Boulevard vision becomes a reality so that future generations to come have cleaner air to breathe and climate impacts on predominantly low-income and communities of color are mitigated in a meaningful way,” Harrington said.

Corrections: A previous version of this article misstated when Rethinking I-94 was started. It was started in 2016. Other edits were made for clarity and accuracy.