France Avenue Safety Study

The France Avenue/I-494 interchange experienced significant safety concerns. More than 150 crashes occurred in the five years prior to the study analysis, which had a negative effect on corridor safety and mobility. The corridor also lacked pedestrian access to destinations. The study included significant data collection and traffic analysis to understand issues and identify short- and long-term solutions. The primary goal was to increase safety while maintaining corridor mobility in this highly used corridor that serves commuters, local and regional traffic, and regional destinations including Southdale Mall.

Recommended short-term improvements included lane reassignment, signing revisions, and intersection improvements. The improvements are intended to increase corridor safety for motorists and pedestrians by using available lanes, separating movements into separate lanes, guiding motorists to destinations, and improving pedestrian infrastructure. Long-term improvements focused on identifying interchange access points onto the freeway. Projects by Hennepin County and MnDOT are helping to achieve the short-term vision for the roadway along with some of the long-term plans.

The Hennepin County project in 2024 reconstructed the intersection at Minnesota Drive, added the multi-use trail on the east side of the roadway, and revised lane use. The MnDOT project on I-494 will reconstruct the on ramps from France Avenue to and from I-494.