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Ile "U.P.NORTH" Project Proposed: Plan, design and implement appropriate congestion mitigation and mobility enhancement measures in the 1-35W North Corridor between Downtown Minneapolis and Forest Lake, Minnesota. Purpose: Currently, traffic congestion occurs on I -35W on a daily basis, especially for southbound traffic north of 1-694 in the morning and for northbound traffic south of 95" Avenue in the evening. Several studies, including the TH 10 Inter Regional Corridor study and the 1-35 Inter Regional Corridor Study, have identified the 1-694 to Lake Drive segment as the critical bottleneck. More recently, the Metro Council's 2030 Transportation Policy Plan identified the North 1-35W Corridor as one of four corridors that warrant more detailed transit service plans. However, Mn/DOT and the Metro Council have not proposed significant capacity expansion for this segment due to constrained funding expectations. This project will identify and implement lower cost, high payoff measures such as those currently being implemented as part of the Urban Partnership Agreement project on 1-35W south of Downtown Minneapolis that are appropriate for implementation in the North corridor area. POTENTIAL STRATEGIES: Two underlying assumptions will drive the proposed planning, design and implementation activities. • Funding will not be available to construct enough capacity to meet forecasted traffic flows on 1-35W. • Based on earlier studies by the Metro Council, future transit use does not warrant consideration of rail based transit service options at this time. Examples of strategies proposed to be examined include but are not limited to: • Traffic Management Technologies o Driver Information Systems o Incident Response Services o Variable Speed Limits • Capacity Enhancements o Auxiliary Lanes o Dynamic Shoulder Lanes o New HOV/Bus Lanes • High Occupancy Vehicle & Transit Enhancements o Opt -In Toll Lanes o Expanded Park & Ride Facilities o Expanded Peak & Off Peak Bus Service o Technology Applications MOVING FORWARD: It is anticipated that completion of the planning and design stages for the proposed project will take 18-24 months, perhaps longer. The Corridor includes 4 Counties, 3 Congressional Districts and 12 contiguous Cities. Agencies involved include Mn/DOT, Metro Council/Metro Transit, Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, etc. Consequently, getting organized and communication will be vital tasks. Getting Organized: 0 Phase 1: Establish Core Group