MSPeconomist

At 9 am: -17 F, wind chill -34 F (but it's now up to -17 F with wind chill -24 F). Some rural areas in the state are much colder; I think I saw -37 F actual temp, with wind chill approaching -50 F. It's going to start getting warmer this evening, so our high will probably occur around midnight.

I probably use I-35 more than any other interstate. Around the Twin Cities, it branches into two (east and west) and much of it has a car pool or pay toll (based on congestion) lane. I like the system and wish more highways were set up this way. Vehicles have transponders (fee) with an on/off switch so that the road is free when you're a car pool. It amazes me to zip by a bad traffic jam for about a dollar and see people sitting in very expensive cars going nowhere. If you can afford to buy or lease a $100K SUV or sports car, get a MN-Pass or EZ-Pass (now that MN has joined up with IL,IN, OH, and most of the east coast on this unified tolling system without tollbooths).

wakesetter93

And I thought I had it bad when it was 24 F on Gumbo's morning walk.

Also, I didn't realize until your post that I-35 splits into East and West in MSP as well. In DFW, I-35W runs through Fort Worth while I-35E runs through Dallas. The carpool/HOV lane is a lifesaver especially at rush hour. Not sure about where you are but the pricing here is dynamic, so the busier the traffic the higher the toll, and it can get fairly steep ($5.00 to go a couple of miles) but if you're in a hurry it's worth it.

jrl767

dynamic/congestion pricing ... on some of my trips to DC over the last few years I recall the signs for the I-495 express lane tolls showing as much as $14.50 for the 6 miles from I-66 to Braddock Rd (may have even been higher; in non-rush-hour it's something like $2.75)

wakesetter93

Thankfully, I live right off of the Dallas North Tollway and the pricing there is fixed. though I'm at the end closest to downtown so my fixed pricing is higher as it gets cheaper the further out of town you go.

MSPeconomist

Congestion based tolls were first introduced on I-35W after people initially rejected the idea as unfair (people with more money would save time in rush hour). Then MN decided to do it on a trial basis, on the section from downtown Minneapolis going south to the MSP and MOA and vv). when we tried it, people liked it very much. It's since spread to a couple other sections (more of I-35W and parts of I-35E plus there's a two lane reversible MN-Pass roadway for I-394 going west from downtown Minneapolis). I got a transponder early on (and I've had a couple different versions of the technology) with the idea that even if it only prevented me from missing one flight, it would be well worth the initial fee.

Our usage fees certainly do depend on congestion at the time. Prices range from twenty-five cents to eight dollars. I almost always take the express lane, although I think the most I ever paid was $5.25. When it's super cheap, the express lane might not be faster, but people seem to drive more carefully there so it feels safer to me. I almost never drive in rush hour. The toll also depends on distance very roughly, with for example I-35W costing more if you continue in the express lane south of MOA/I-494 (the circular road that avoids both downtowns) and I-394 costing more if you continue in the express lanes after the special roadway ends at the first north-south highway (MN 100 if you're looking at a roadmap) outside of Minneapolis, roughly where city residential areas end and the first suburb (St Louis Park in this case) begins.

If you want to look at MN traffic and road (blizzard) conditions, google MN 511. I think the website is mn511.org (you don't want the obscure flight number that pops up) and there's also an app that I can use to check traffic conditions in neighboring states. Right now on my phone I don't see any orange or red lines on I-35 or nearby major highways until I get down to the Dallas area and then again north of Austin. In fact, I can scroll down to Mexico, but not much of Canada is covered. Kentucky, Syracuse, and north of Boston look bad today, as expected (winter snowstorms).

BTW, the idea and research behind congestion-based tolls was done by Herb Mohring (RIP), economics professor at University of Minnesota for many years. I guess it's not surprising the the initial demonstration was (finally) done here, probably in the mid-late 1990s.

wakesetter93

This area would be orange/red at 3:00am. The construction is never ending.

MSPeconomist

In MN, road construction largely stops for winter.

wakesetter93

I was in Alaska a few years ago and someone told me they have 2 seasons: Winter and Road Construction

MSPeconomist

Exactly, although Road Construction season is also Mosquito (the state bird) season.

Parts of southern California have two seasons too: Smoggy and Recruiting.

wakesetter93

The Mosquito is also the state bird of Louisiana

GW McLintock

Speaking of birds, a European Starling just stopped by to say hi. First or second bird of the year (don't recall if the sparrow was this year or if it was still December).

-J.

jrl767

so was that a surprising sighting or just a starling one?

MSPeconomist

Since kipper doesn't seem to be here right now: <groan>

GW McLintock

I think I would just call it an UAV (unexpected aviary vision).

-J.

mattp1987

Vision or visitor?