Interstate 335 (Minnesota)

Interstate 335 (I-335) is a cancelled auxiliary Interstate route in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was planned to cross Northeast Minneapolis from I-35W south of Broadway to I-94 in North Minneapolis. Land was acquired and some demolition had proceeded when the road was defeated by local opposition.

Interstate 335
Proposed I-335 corridor highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-35
Length2.74 mi[1] (4.41 km)
Existed1964–1978 (never built)
Highway system
  • Minnesota Trunk Highways

Route description

I-335, also called the North Ring, was planned as part of a loop around Minneapolis.[1] It would have connected I-35W north of downtown Minneapolis westward to I-94 to provide better access to the city's central business district, and later to ease congestion on the Lowry Hill Tunnel on I-94. The eastern terminus of I-335 was to be on I-35W northeast of downtown Minneapolis, between the Hennepin Avenue and Broadway Street bridges.

History

The federal government granted approval for I-335 in October 1964. In spite of opposition from local residents, the Minneapolis City Council approved plans for the freeway in July 1970 and began purchasing right-of-way. However, increasing protest from residents prompted the council to withdraw its support in 1972. Senator Walter Mondale and Representative Donald M. Fraser began working to stop the highway, successfully getting funding for I-335 withheld. Support for the freeway continued to drop, and the U.S. Department of Transportation removed it from the Interstate Highway System in 1978.[1]

Although I-335 was never built, evidence of its planning existed up until 2014[2] in the form of unused pavement at the New Brighton Boulevard and Johnson Street exits. Also, a strip of housing in the area is of 1970s vintage, which is much newer than the surrounding houses in the neighborhood. These houses were built once the I-335 project was cancelled, on land where the older housing stock had been demolished in preparation for the freeway. For many years, blank lines on exit signage also existed on I-35W in the area, until the original signs and roadway were redone many years later.

I-335 was listed in the 1978 Federal Highway Administration route log with a length of 2.74 miles (4.41 km).

References
  1. Cavanaugh, Patricia (October 2006). Politics and Freeways: Building the Twin Cities Interstate System (Report). University of Minnesota Center for Urban and Regional Affairs. hdl:11299/2082.
  2. "2013-4th St S Ramp/Auxiliary Lane".
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