Interstate 35W (Minnesota)

Template:Infobox Interstate/Intrastate Interstate 35W (abbreviated I-35W), an interstate highway, is the western half of Interstate 35 where it splits to serve different cities in Minnesota. I-35 splits into two branch routes, I-35W and I-35E at Burnsville. I-35W runs north for 39 miles (63 km), carrying its own separate sequence of exit numbers. It runs through Minneapolis before rejoining with I-35E to reform I-35 in Columbus. I-35W supplanted the now-decommissioned highways of old US 8 north of Minneapolis and US 65 south of the city.

Historically, other interstates were given directional suffixes. On every other interstate, the directional suffixes were phased out by giving the route a loop or spur designation. In the case of I-35, since both branches return to a unified interstate beyond the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the AASHTO committees allowed the suffixes to remain. A similar split on I-35 continues to exist in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in Texas, for similar reasons as the I-35 split in the Twin Cities. The Twin Cities and Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex splits on I-35 are the only directional splits remaining in the entire Interstate Highway System.

Cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

• Burnsville, Minnesota
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Columbus, Minnesota

Intersections with other Interstates and other main roads

• Interstate 35 splits into I-35E and I-35W in Burnsville, Minnesota
• Minnesota State Highway 62 in Richfield, Minnesota
• Interstate 494 in Bloomington, Minnesota
• Interstate 94 in downtown Minneapolis
• Interstate 694 in New Brighton, Minnesota
• Interstate 35 reforms from I-35E and I-35W in Columbus, Minnesota

Notes

The route passes through the two most notorious interchanges in the Twin Cities, the Crosstown Commons at Minnesota State Highway 62 and an interchange with Interstate 94 immediately south of downtown Minneapolis. Reconstruction of both interchanges are on short and long range plans, respectively. In downtown Minneapolis, the interchange with Interstate 94 does not have direct access from southbound I-35W to eastbound I-94 or from westbound I-94 to northbound I-35W. Drivers must use Cedar Avenue and Washington Avenue to make these connections.

A proposed Transitway will soon be added to the highway to prevent future congestion on Interstate 35W and Interstate 35 from Downtown Minneapolis to Lakeville, Minnesota.

No direct access from I-35E to I-35W is provided at either the southern or northern termini. Access from I-35W southbound to I-35E northbound at the southern terminus is possible via County Road 42 within a half-mile (0.8 km) of the terminus.

The route of I-35W is defined as part of Route 394 in Minnesota Statutes § 161.12(2),[1] but is not signed as such.