Interstate 35E

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Federal and state transportation authorities wanted to connect Highway 5 with Interstate 94 by running a six-lane freeway between the two, dividing the West End neighborhoods and cutting off the area from others further “uphill.” In 1969, Residents in Protest 35E (R.I.P. 35E) sued the Minnesota Highway Department and the U.S. Department of Transportation, demanding an environmental impact study (EIS). With new conditions added—a 45-mph speed limit; banning of trucks; some sections sub-grade level; landscaping; and special attention to the slopes — construction resumed in 1984 with completion in 1990.