These images are courtesy of the National Agriculture Imagery Program, a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and were taken in 2005.

This view, at 5.5-feet-per-pixel resolution, shows the newly reconstructed MN 100/MN 55 interchange in Golden Valley.  MN 100 runs north-south, while MN 55 runs east-west.

The original interchange was a cloverleaf interchange dating from the late 1930s that had tight narrow ramps and curves and minimal acceleration/deceleration lanes.  Evidence of the original configuration remains in the placement of the frontage roads in 3 of the 4 interchange quadrants, especially the two western quadrants.  There were also right-in/right-out intersections on MN 100 north of the interchange.

In 2001-2002, the interchange was reconstructed as part of the MN 100 reconstruction project.  This represented an upgrade, and in one way a downgrade, of the interchange.  The right-in/right-out intersections (and traffic signals further north) along MN 100 as part of its upgrade to full freeway.  Full shoulders and a 3rd lane in each direction were added to MN 100.  Replacing the antiquated cloverleaf is a modern Single-point Urban Interchange (SPUI for short).  The "downgrade" is in the sense that an additional traffic signal was added to MN 55, which already has several traffic signals impacting traffic.

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Page last modified 20 May, 2008