When completed in late 2026, a three-year Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) project will bring major improvements to one of the busiest sections of Interstate 94 (I-94) in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The I-94 Gap Project will add a third lane in each direction on a 7.7-mile stretch of the interstate between the cities of Albertville and Monticello in Wright County, on the northwest side of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area in Minnesota.
“On either side of this project, I-94 has already upgraded to six lanes,” said Robert Abfalter, MnDOT Construction Project Manager. “This section was left to be widened, so it has been called the ‘Gap.’ When the project is completed this fall, I-94 will have three lanes of traffic in both directions throughout Wright County, instead of the existing two lanes in the gap section.”
I-94 is a key corridor in the northern United States, an east-west highway that connects the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions. Its route passes through major cities including Billings, Montana; Bismarck and Fargo, North Dakota; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; and Detroit, Michigan. The interstate's western terminus is just east of Billings. Its eastern terminus is in Port Huron, Michigan, where it meets with I-69 and crosses into Sarnia, Ontario, in Canada.
I-94 is the only east-west interstate highway to have a direct connection to Canada, making it a primary route between the Great Lakes region and Toronto. The highway serves as a major, direct link for international commerce and travel between the U.S. and Canada.
In Minnesota, I-94 runs 259 miles through the central portion of the state. In addition to the Twin Cities, the highway connects the Minnesota cities of Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Alexandria, Sauk Centre, St. Cloud, and Monticello. The state's section of I-94 was primarily constructed in the 1960s.
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“It is a principal artery for travelers and commercial vehicles, a roadway which connects people and businesses together,” Abfalter said. “In 2024, about 65,000 vehicles used this section of I-94 each day. That number is expected to rise to nearly 81,000 by 2043.”
The primary components of the extensive project include:
- Reconstruction of the road surface
- Addition of a third westbound lane from County Road 37 in Albertville to west of Highway 25 in Monticello
- Addition of a third eastbound lane from west of Highway 25 in Monticello to County Road 19 in Albertville
- Replacement of the westbound bridge over County Road 19 in Albertville
- Widening of the westbound bridge over County Road 75 in Monticello
- Replacement or repair of underground pipes
- Installation of two noise walls along I-94 in the Monticello area: along eastbound I-94, east of County Road 18/Fenning Avenue; and along westbound I-94, east of Broadway Street
Construction on the over $70.25 million project began in July 2024 and is expected to be substantially complete, with all six lanes open, by October 15, 2026 (with project acceptance by June 2027). The general contractor for the I-94 Gap Project is Shafer Contracting Co. Inc. of Shafer, Minnesota.
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The project is funded through Minnesota’s Corridors of Commerce program, created by the Legislature in 2013 to support state highway projects that promote economic growth. The program operates outside MnDOT’s regular State Road Construction program, and funding depends on legislative appropriation.
There are numerous benefits that the project will generate along the corridor and the areas it serves. The expansion from four to six lanes will bridge a gap in capacity, reducing congestion and bottlenecks between Albertville and Monticello — especially near the Maple Grove community, where demand from commuters and travelers heading to and from St. Cloud overwhelms the current lanes.
By improving the roadway layout, the project aims to decrease crash rates and improve safety along a heavily traveled segment, which is also used by freight carriers. Eliminating a critical gap in the I-94 corridor, and replacing aging pavement and infrastructure, will provide a more efficient, modern highway system that accommodates future growth.
“The upgraded highway will provide a smoother ride, improved distribution to other arterial routes, and will extend the life of the interstate,” Abfalter said.
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As the project commenced in July 2024, road widening and the construction of temporary median crossovers began. By the fall of 2024, paving for the temporary crossovers was completed and median work was underway. At the end of October, when the winter suspension of work began, two lanes were reopened in both directions.
The 2025 work season began in early April, with periodic single-lane closures in both directions during off-peak hours. Traffic was shifted — westbound traffic moved to the adjacent eastbound side, with two lanes open each way during peak hours, while crews worked on the westbound side. As the year progressed, the westbound road surface was reconstructed, and underground pipes were replaced or repaired.
According to Abfalter, several project milestones were reached during the 2025 work season.
“The westbound third lane was constructed from County Road 37 in Albertville to west of Highway 25 in Monticello,” he said. “The westbound bridge on County Road 75 was widened, and the westbound bridge over Wright County Road 19 was replaced. One noise wall was installed along westbound I-94.”
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As 2025 construction wrapped up, westbound traffic was shifted to the new lanes. Eastbound traffic was returned to its original configuration with two lanes remaining open through the winter and into the 2026 work season.
“In 2026, we are completing the eastbound third lane from west of Highway 25 in Monticello to County Road 19 in Albertville,” Abfalter said. “The modular block walls will be completed, as well as the second noise wall on eastbound I-94. When the 2026 construction season ends, traffic will have the additional lane in each direction to use.”
Material quantities provided by Abfalter illustrate the project's size and scope:
- 492,000 cubic yards of common excavation
- 192,000 cubic yards of select granular embankment
- 151,000 cubic yards of common embankment
- 109,000 cubic yards of aggregate base (class 6)
- 236,000 square yards of concrete pavement
- 120,000 pounds of supplement pavement reinforcement
- 155,000 square feet of wood noise barrier
- Owner: Minnesota Department of Transportation
- General Contractor: Shafer Contracting Co. Inc., Shafer, Minnesota
- Designer/Engineer: WSB, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Lane expansion and other construction along such a heavily used corridor, while maintaining two open lanes in each direction, has required careful traffic management, said Abfalter.
“The impacts to traffic consist of narrower lanes, multiple lane shifts, and reduced speed of 60 mph in the construction area,” he said. “When the contractor needs to temporarily close a lane, they are required to do that at non-peak times. This requires some night work to construct temporary widenings, as well as when shifting traffic around.
“The most significant construction challenges are probably construction access and working around traffic in the construction zone. Safety for the contractor as well as safety for the driving public is critical. It takes quite a bit of planning to determine how to get trucks in and out of the work areas with ongoing high-speed traffic along the corridor.”
While the construction of this critical infrastructure initiative has meant lane shifts, periodic lane closures, and other disruptions for commuters, commercial vehicles, and travelers, the end result will be a much-enhanced, less-congested, safer roadway system that is ready to meet present and future demands. Additionally, the I-94 Gap Project will aid in economic growth by supporting commercial logistics and enhancing economic development in the region.
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