Study finds traffic not bad after bridge collapse
Our traffic effects of the bridge collapse study made AP: Study finds traffic not bad after bridge collapse
From the Pioneer Press:
Minnesota News
Study finds traffic not bad after bridge collapse
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 08/29/2008 06:27:12 AM CDT
MINNEAPOLIS—A University of Minnesota study shows that car trips in the Twin Cities are less than a minute longer than they were before the Interstate 35W bridge collapse.
Civil engineering professor David Levinson looked into the Twin Cities drive times and found that the average trip before the collapse was just two-tenths of a minute faster.
Levinson says other studies have shown that work commute times are also less than a minute longer.
Part of the reason is emergency road improvements on Minnesota 280 and Interstate 94. But Levinson also says the infrastructure in the Twin Cities was designed to handle an increase.
While severe congestion occurred immediately after the collapse, traffic flow improved with the changes.
The new Interstate 35W bridge is set to be open as early as next month.