Project Manager Newsletter
May 2026
As I write this May’s newsletter, it is 94 degrees and hot! What happened to spring? I hope you are staying cool wherever you are. This month I will discuss Phase 2 of the environmental impact statement (EIS) and our ArcGIS StoryMap website, a tool that allows us to use street-level mapping to visually show proposed improvements for Hwy 252 and I-94.
If you recall, we previously talked about Phases 1A—should Hwy 252 go over or under the local roadways? —and 1B—where should access be on Hwy 252.
Phase 2 evaluates what mainline Hwy 252 and I-94 should look like, such as how many lanes and the type of lanes. We have 10 alternatives with a mix of different lane numbers and types throughout the corridor. All 10 are evaluated against the No-Build alternative to determine benefits and impacts of each.
Evaluating 10 alternatives in an EIS is quite a challenge. Even more challenging is presenting and explaining each of the 10 alternatives, so we created a second StoryMap website after hearing positive feedback using this tool during Phase 1B. We hope this will help you all navigate each of the alternatives and easily identify the differences between them.
The Phase 2 Alternatives StoryMap website launched the week of May 18th and is available to view here: Highway 252/I-94 environmental impact study Phase 2.
You can also access the alternatives website by visiting our project website here: Highway 252/I-94 EIS - MnDOT.
As with the previous website, you can navigate through the tabs that explain the features in common to each alternative, look through the Hwy 252 or I-94 corridors separately, or explore each alternative using the interactive maps. At this point, we are not soliciting formal feedback. That opportunity will come during the publication of the draft EIS this fall.
Our hope is that this tool will help answer some of your questions about the alternatives. If you still have questions, please feel free to reach out to us via the project website.
Please stay safe and cool and we will chat again next month!
Question of the month: Where can I learn more about the Phase 2 alternatives?
The Phase 2 Mainline Alternatives website is now available for public review! This website shares the mainline build alternatives and highlights the key features of each alternative.
This Story Map is intended to share information at this stage rather than collect feedback. Explore the website to view all Phase 2 alternatives and see how each option looks and functions. Click to visit the Phase 2 website.