MnDOT Needs to Add A New Lane to Highway-52 in Rochester

It seems you almost can't drive anywhere in Rochester these days without running into some road construction project. But here's one that we really need-- even though it's not even on the drawing board yet.

We all know that there are only two seasons in Minnesota-- winter and road construction, right? So, yeah, I understand why there are sooo many projects, complete with those familiar orange barrels, all over southeast Minnesota right now.

But here's one construction project I WISH the powers-that-be would add to the list: Adding an extra northbound lane along Highway-52 between 19th Street and 37th Street.

Have you driven that stretch anytime during daylight hours lately? It's ALWAYS busy! Trying to merge onto northbound Highway-52 from 19th Street is tricky, and trying to find your way onto the exit at 37th Street from Highway-52 can be a challenge too.

Traffic on stretch-- especially the right lane-- is extra heavy because if you want to head anywhere on either 37th Street OR 41st Street, you HAVE to take that exit. And think of how many destinations there are off 41st Street near Target North alone... a lot!

And, since that stretch of Highway-52 also doubles as Highway-63 (which was reconfigured a few years ago to alleviate truck traffic along North Broadway all the way north to 75th Street), there seems to be even MORE traffic.

So what's up with not having a continuous extra northbound lane between the on-ramp at 19th Street and the exit at 37th Street? That would TOTALLY make driving on that stretch waaay easier, whether you're trying to merge into traffic from 19th Street, or trying to get over to the exit at 37th Street. I'm no civil engineer, mind you, but it sure looks like there's enough room to add that lane without too much trouble.

I'm sure MnDOT would have to do studies to see how much traffic actually uses those lanes, but, just anecdotally, it seems to be A LOT, right? And that would be one road construction project I totally WOULDN'T complain about. (Well, at least not much, anyway...)

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