A System of Toll Lanes in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Region: Technical and Policy Issues

This paper describes MnPASS, the term used by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) for “express toll lanes.” These express toll lanes provide a congestion-free alternative to highways with high congestion by charging a toll for drivers to use one or more specially designated highway lanes. Mn/DOT is considering two types of MnPASS lanes: high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, whereby existing (or proposed) high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes opened up to non-HOV for a toll; or new highway capacity adjacent to existing highways (either freeways or conventional highways), where all traffic except transit vehicles pays a toll. The overall objective of this paper was to identify a potential Twin Cities Metropolitan Area MnPASS tolling lane system and to provide Mn/DOT and the Metropolitan Council with information on the cost, operational, revenue and system implications of that system. The intent of the paper was to evaluate the benefits of tolled versus non-tolled capacity expansion, but rather to study a potential future system of express toll lanes.