and MN 5

I-494 is about 3/5 of a beltway, which is why it changes directions partway through. (I-694 takes over the remainder, although a portion of that route is shared with I-94.) Here we have the unusual uses of an ampersand and a 1/5 mile advance distance. More correct, but way less cool, would be a hyphen and either 1/4 mile or 1,000 feet of distance.


Heading WB past Exit 10 construction at US 169, where a WB-SB flyover will replace the current cloverleaf loop and end what I'm sure is nasty weaving to justify such an expense. The WB-NB ramp will also be rebuilt to come off of the SB ramp at a higher elevation, passing directly over the NB-WB loop instead of around it to improve its flow.


In the EB direction, there's work to rebuild the EB-SB ramp so that it flies over the frontage roads, which all interconnect with roundabouts in the completed interchange and have access to and from various directions of I-494 and US 169. Meanwhile, there's no longer any access from I-494 EB to US 169 NB, or the corresponding SB-WB movement. It's expected that this traffic can use US 212 for the missing connections, and anyone so local that they live south of the US 169/US 212/MN 62 interchange can filter their way through the road network accordingly. That said, MN 100 seems to have been offered up as an alternative NB corridor, at least at Exit 8, although it never gets any closer to US 169 and so requires a 3-mile backtrack on I-394 or I-35W.

Exit 1 to MN 5 alone

The other half of the beltway, I-694
Exit 2C to (old) MN 77
Exit 10 to US 169
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