How to exit from I-394E onto I-94E into the Lowry Hill Tunnel? (construction, closing)

[Thegonagle]

Originally Posted by theweekend

Why not take 4th Street instead of 6th Street? That's what I don't get.

4th is less congested, but you have to jog back to 6th at some point (I'd use Portland) in order to get on E.B. 94. (And I didn't say it was faster, just easy, except for Hennepin to 5th Ave.)

I'll admit, I don't do this one in rush hour very often. I do it more on nights and weekends when the tunnel is closed for maintenance. The "official" detour (Dunwoody to Lyndale to 94) gets silly-congested, which is crazy to me, because there are several good ways to avoid it.

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by Cruz Azul Guy

Are you positive that the State Trooper is pulling people over for that? I wasn't aware of a traffic law prohibiting people from switching lanes, regardless of where the lane change takes place.

Yes. I used to take the 394 to I-94W exit every day for my commute and saw the state troopers flag people over right in front of me as they block the I-94W exit while waiting for an opening to cut in the I-94E line. There is a law against impeding the flow of traffic. Nobody can cut in to the front of the I-94E line when it is slow and long without slowing down or completely stopping the people behind them in the I-94W lane that would be clear and flowing fine if they were not blocking it.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by moving123456

Yes. I used to take the 394 to I-94W exit every day for my commute and saw the state troopers flag people over right in front of me as they block the I-94W exit while waiting for an opening to cut in the I-94E line. There is a law against impeding the flow of traffic. Nobody can cut in to the front of the I-94E line when it is slow and long without slowing down or completely stopping the people behind them in the I-94W lane that would be clear and flowing fine if they were not blocking it.

It isn't really their fault though if the cars in the other lane won't let him/her merge in. I've never seen someone pulled over for this.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by Cruz Azul Guy

It isn't really their fault though if the cars in the other lane won't let him/her merge in. I've never seen someone pulled over for this.

It is fair! That person should have played by the rules and gotten in line. Now there's always the scenario when somebody who is unfamiliar to the area gets stuck in that trap and finds that they need to be on the right-hand side after it's too late. If they have an out-of-state license plate I usually give that person the benefit of the doubt, and even if they are local and CLEARLY cheating the system I'll let ONE person in per backup (to keep traffic moving in the other lane).

Sometimes when I'm not familiar with an area and I start to see a backup in just ONE lane, I'll get in line first and then try to figure out where I really need to be in case I don't have to wait in that line. To me, that's the safest way to approach that situation.

[kuan]

The zipper method won't work in this case. It only works when everyone is going the same way. There are people behind you who are taking 94E and you're screwing it up for others by creating congestion for them.

[theweekend]

Originally Posted by moving123456

The next lane over in this situation is for the I-94W exit. Traffic has to slow down more for the I-94E exit because of the curve to it. Two lanes "zippering" to the I-94E exit would block an otherwise completely clear I-94W.

And how many people going east on 394 will want to go west on 94? Next to none. The lane is practically wasted, so you might as well use it for 94 east overflow traffic.

[DannyBanany]

Originally Posted by Ghengis

If the traffic is real bad, I will often stay on 394 into downtown and hang a quick right onto 6th St. If you keep your speed at exactly 62 mph, you'll hit every single light between Target Field and the Metrodome and you will be right back on 94 in a jiffy.

I do this every time I see the merge backed up. The stoplights on 6th line up perfectly with the speed limit and you even get your own lane when you're back on 94.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

It is fair! That person should have played by the rules and gotten in line. Now there's always the scenario when somebody who is unfamiliar to the area gets stuck in that trap and finds that they need to be on the right-hand side after it's too late. If they have an out-of-state license plate I usually give that person the benefit of the doubt, and even if they are local and CLEARLY cheating the system I'll let ONE person in per backup (to keep traffic moving in the other lane).

Sometimes when I'm not familiar with an area and I start to see a backup in just ONE lane, I'll get in line first and then try to figure out where I really need to be in case I don't have to wait in that line. To me, that's the safest way to approach that situation.

I think this methodology gets thrown out the window when traffic gets backed up past the last exit, because naturally there will be cars entering onto the freeway that need to be in another lane than the far right one and have to force their way over. This commonly happens at that spot on 394 to the cars entering from Penn Ave. Anyway, I'm still not convinced that the State Trooper was pulling people over for trying to switch lanes at the last second. Maybe somebody from law enforcement could speak to this better?

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Denial is an ugly thing indeed!

Just keep doing what you do. It doesn't personally offend me but you could personally offend the person you wish to cut off and you may find yourself in unnecessary trouble if you anger the wrong driver. That, or you may find you get pulled over for........whatever. OR you'll get away with it for as long as you live. Karma is a weird thing. That's not to say I wish bad Karma on you, but I think if you knowingly do wrong you will be the victim of Karma.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

Denial is an ugly thing indeed!

Just keep doing what you do. It doesn't personally offend me but you could personally offend the person you wish to cut off and you may find yourself in unnecessary trouble if you anger the wrong driver. That, or you may find you get pulled over for........whatever. OR you'll get away with it for as long as you live. Karma is a weird thing. That's not to say I wish bad Karma on you, but I think if you knowingly do wrong you will be the victim of Karma.

Well, lucky for you I don't take that way often. I'm not afraid to merge when I have to though, like on 62 when it goes to 1 lane west of 169. I zipper merge from the right lane on nearly a daily basis along with all of the cars coming onto the freeway late.....there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.