Duluth, Minnesota is a Traffic Nightmare. There has been construction on I-35 for about three years and it is down to a single lane with no shoulder through town. I’ve been caught in this every year lately, as I go through this otherwise interesting town.
This past Saturday, Duluth hosted Grandma’s Marathon. For some reason when we came through about 1:30 PM (returning from our trip up the Gunflint Trail), Someone who is apparently an idiot had decided to close the ramps onto south I-35, and route traffic through downtown Duluth into the aftermath of the Grandma’s Marathon. There were no signs to direct us through, and half of the streets in the downtown were closed. We were stuck in traffic, being funneled deeper into the mass of traffic generated by the race. After an hour, I finally managed to find my way out and unto the single-lane of the freeway that seems to be forever under construction.
So who’s “bright idea” was it to funnel all of the traffic into downtown instead of alleviating problems by allowing cars to get on the freeway? If the idea was to keep the runners safe, I don’t see how that was accomplished by increasing automobile traffic! If the idea was to force me to visit Duluth, it only made me so frustrated, that it will be a long time before I go back there. In fact, I would like to see I-35 go around Duluth so I don’t need to get stuck there ever again. I don’t appreciate wasting gas and adding an extra hour to my already long trip.
This past Saturday, Duluth hosted Grandma’s Marathon. For some reason when we came through about 1:30 PM (returning from our trip up the Gunflint Trail), Someone who is apparently an idiot had decided to close the ramps onto south I-35, and route traffic through downtown Duluth into the aftermath of the Grandma’s Marathon. There were no signs to direct us through, and half of the streets in the downtown were closed. We were stuck in traffic, being funneled deeper into the mass of traffic generated by the race. After an hour, I finally managed to find my way out and unto the single-lane of the freeway that seems to be forever under construction.
So who’s “bright idea” was it to funnel all of the traffic into downtown instead of alleviating problems by allowing cars to get on the freeway? If the idea was to keep the runners safe, I don’t see how that was accomplished by increasing automobile traffic! If the idea was to force me to visit Duluth, it only made me so frustrated, that it will be a long time before I go back there. In fact, I would like to see I-35 go around Duluth so I don’t need to get stuck there ever again. I don’t appreciate wasting gas and adding an extra hour to my already long trip.
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