| I-694 | |||
| Get started | Maple Grove | ||
| End | Woodbury | ||
| Length | 31 mi | ||
| Length | 50 km | ||
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Interstate 694 or I -694 is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Minnesota. The highway is part of the ring road around the Minneapolis-St. Paul and forms the northern part of this over a length of 50 kilometers.
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Travel directions
I-35E/I-694 in Little Canada.
I-694 begins double -numbered with Interstate 94 and proceeds east from Maple Grove. The highway has only 2×2 lanes here and passes through the suburb Maple Grove. At the border with Brooklyn Park, one crosses US 169, a north-south highway from Eden Prairie to Brooklyn Park. One then passes through Brooklyn Center and crosses State Route 100, the highway to Bloomington in the south of the metropolitan area. Immediately after, Interstate 94 turns south to Minneapolis. You then cross the Mississippi River with 2×4 lanes, after which the highway has 2×3 through lanes. One then passes through the suburb of Fridley. It crosses several main streets leading to the northern suburbs. At New Brighton, one crosses Interstate 35W, the western branch of I-35 through the metropolitan area. The highway then has 2×2 lanes again and passes through an area with many lakes, north of St. Paul. At Little Canada, a short double – numbered intersection crosses Interstate 35E, the eastern branch of I-35 through the metropolitan area. The highway then passes through the suburb of Maplewood and has 2×2 lanes. In Oakdale, I-694 turns south and closes at Interstate 94to Interstate 494 which further forms the beltway south of the city.
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History
Construction of I-694 went well, one of the few highway projects in the Minneapolis area to be completed without much delay. The first section opened in 1962, an extension of I-35E north of St. Paul. In 1963 this section was extended west to Arden Hills. The highway was subsequently opened during the 1960s. The western section opened in 1966 and 1968, including the double-numbering with I-94 and the bridge over the Mississippi River at Brooklyn Center. In 1968 the north-south section through Oakdale also opened. The last link, the east-west section between I-35E and Oakdale, opened in 1970.
Opening history
Opening dates taken from Minnesota State Highway maps.
| From | Unpleasant | Length | Opening |
| exit 45 | exit 46 | 2 km | 1962 |
| Exit 42 | exit 45 | 5 km | 1963 |
| Exit 41 | Exit 42 | 2 km | 1964 |
| Exit 31 | Exit 41 | 16 km | 1966 |
| Exit 27 | Exit 31 | 6 km | 1968 |
| Exit 52 | exit 58 | 10 km | 1968 |
| exit 46 | Exit 52 | 10 km | 1970 |
The weave
The Weave is the interchange between I-35E and I-694 north of St. Paul. Like other places in the Twin Cities, traffic from both highways converged on a short double numbering system. In this case, there were 2×3 lanes, leading to severe congestion. This stretch was widened to 5+6 lanes between 2006 and 2008.
US 10 interchange
Between September 2011 and November 2013, the interchange of I-694 with US 10 and State Route 51 was reconstructed in Arden Hills. The traffic flows are thereby disentangled.
Arden Hills – Little Canada
In 2017, a 4-kilometer section between Arden Hills and Little Canada was widened from 2×2 to 2×3 lanes. This was a bottleneck between US 10 and I-35E.
Traffic intensities
The double numbering with the I-94 counts about 120,000 vehicles in 2×2 lanes, which is an extreme amount. Some 150,000 vehicles cross the Mississippi River every day in 2×4 lanes. This then drops to 110,000 vehicles on 2×3 lanes. The section north of St. Paul has 65,000 to 85,000 vehicles on 2×2 lanes.
