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It's one of the busiest highways in Rochester, and driving on this stretch during rush hours will no doubt put some grey hair on your head!

We've all driven on Highway-52 (technically U.S. Highway 52) in northwest Rochester between Civic Center Drive and 55th Street, right? It's one of the main highways in southeast Minnesota, especially if you're heading to or from the Twin Cities.

So, it's normal to expect Highway-52 to have a moderate to heavy level of traffic. But the northbound stretch between 19th Street and 37th Street is ESPECIALLY busy-- specifically if you happen to drive it during the mid-to-late morning or afternoon hours.

I've had to drive that stretch frequently over the past few months at around 4 pm when I pick our dogs up from their daycare center near there-- and it's always stressful. Trying to merge onto northbound Highway-52 from 19th Street is tricky, and trying to find your way onto the exit at 37th Street from Highway-52 can be a challenge too.

I think traffic on stretch-- especially the right lane-- is extra heavy because if you want to head anywhere on either 37th Street OR 41st Street, you HAVE to take that exit.

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But I have a solution that would make things easier: MnDOT should add an extra right lane from the 19th Street on-ramp to the 37th Street off-ramp. Having a continuous extra northbound lane between those two streets would TOTALLY make driving on that stretch way easier, whether you're trying to merge into traffic from 19th Street, or trying to get over to the exit at 37th Street.

And, adding an extra southbound lane from the on-ramp at 37th Street south to the off-ramp at Elton Hills Drive would also make things better, am I right? Are you listening, MnDOT? And speaking of driving, there's nothing like ANOTHER red traffic light to add some extra stress to your life, so keep scrolling to check out the Most Annoying Intersections in Rochester!

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Rochester's Most Annoying Intersections

We travel on them nearly every day, and they cause a lot of stress... because these are the Most Annoying Intersections in Rochester!

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