Interstate 394 Empty During Minneapolis COVID-19 Shutdown

Interstate 394 in Minneapolis nearly empty at night during COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020.
Interstate 394 in Minneapolis nearly empty at night during COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020.

Interstate 394 connects downtown Minneapolis to the western suburbs, running past the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood and merging with Interstate 94 near the Lowry Hill Tunnel. The freeway opened in stages during the late 1980s and early 1990s, replacing what had long been planned as an inner-city extension of Highway 12. Minnesota's stay-at-home order, in effect from late March through mid-May 2020, cut traffic across the Twin Cities metro to a fraction of normal volumes. Overnight counts on routes like I-394 dropped by more than half compared to pre-pandemic averages during that period.

Taken April 2020

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Downtown Minneapolis amid early COVID-19 Shutdowns
Downtown Minneapolis streets, venues, and transit infrastructure during the April 2020 COVID-19 shutdown
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