Interstate 35E (Minnesota) in the context of "Interstate 270 (Maryland)"

Downtown Saint Paul is the central business district of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River to the south, University Avenue to the north, US 52 to the east, and Kellogg Boulevard to the west. It is bounded by the Dayton's Bluff, Summit-University, West Seventh, Frogtown, West Side, and Payne-Phalen neighborhoods. The West Side neighborhood is on the other side of the river, and can be accessed via the Robert Street Bridge or the Wabasha Street Bridge. Interstate 35E and Interstate 94 run through the north side of the neighborhood, providing a separation between the Minnesota State Capitol and other state government buildings with the rest of downtown.

Interstate 35E (I-35E), a north–south Interstate Highway, is the eastern half of I-35, where it splits to serve the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. I-35 splits into two branch routes, I-35W and I-35E, at Hillsboro. I-35E travels north for 97 miles (156 km), maintaining I-35's sequence of exit numbers. It travels through Dallas before rejoining with I-35W to reform I-35 in Denton.

During the early years of the Interstate Highway System, branching Interstates with directional suffixes, such as N, S, E, and W, were common nationwide. On every other Interstate nationwide, these directional suffixes have been phased out by redesignating the suffixed route numbers with a loop or spur route number designation (such as I-270 in Maryland, which was once I-70S) or, in some cases, were assigned a different route number (such as I-76, which was once I-80S). In the case of I-35 in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, since neither branch is clearly the main route and both branches return to a unified Interstate beyond the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has allowed the suffixes of E and W in Texas to remain to the present day. I-35 also splits into I-35E and I-35W in Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota, for similar reasons as the I-35 split in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

Interstate 35W (I-35W) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Minnesota, passing through downtown Minneapolis. It is one of two through routes for I-35 through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the other being I-35E through downtown Saint Paul.

Traveling north, I-35 splits at Burnsville, and the I-35W route runs north for 41 miles (66 km), carrying its own separate sequence of exit numbers. It runs through the city of Minneapolis before rejoining with I-35E to reform I-35 in Columbus near Forest Lake. I-35W supplanted sections of old U.S. Highway 8 (US 8) northeast of Minneapolis and old US 65 south of Minneapolis that have since been removed from the United States Numbered Highway System.

Interstate 35W (I-35W), a north–south Interstate Highway, is the western half of I-35 where it splits to serve the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. I-35 splits into two branch routes, I-35W and I-35E, at Hillsboro. I-35W runs north for 85.2 miles (137.1 km), carrying its own separate sequence of exit numbers. It runs through Fort Worth before rejoining with I-35E to reform I-35 in Denton. It is the more direct route for long-distance expressway traffic, as is noted on signs on I-35 leading into the I-35W/I-35E splits. During the 1970s, billboards existed on I-35 encouraging travelers to take the faster and shorter I-35W route.

During the early years of the Interstate Highway System, branching Interstates with directional suffixes, such as N, S, E, and W, were common nationwide. On every other Interstate nationwide, these directional suffixes have been phased out by redesignating the suffixed route numbers with a loop or spur route number designation (such as I-270 in Maryland, which was once I-70S) or, in some cases, were assigned a different route number (such as I-76, which was once I-80S). In the case of I-35 in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, since neither branch is clearly the main route and both branches return to a unified Interstate beyond the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, officials at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) have allowed the suffixes of E and W in Texas to remain in the present day. I-35 also splits into I-35E and I-35W in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, for similar reasons as the I-35 split in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

Interstate 494 (I-494) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway making up part of a beltway of I-94, circling through the southern and western portions of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota. The 42.94-mile (69.11 km) road is coupled with I-694 (which circles the northern edge of the Twin Cities metro area) at each end and composes more than half of the major beltway of the region. I-694/I-494 also act as loop routes for I-35E and I-35W.

The speed limit on I-494 is 60 mph (97 km/h). Interstate Highways outside of the loop in Minnesota may be signed as high as 70 mph (110 km/h). Most highways inside the loop are signed at speeds of 55 mph (89 km/h) or lower, though a few exceptions were added in September 2005, allowing speeds of up to 60 mph (97 km/h) in some places. Those roads had been signed at 60 mph (97 km/h) or higher up until the 1973 oil crisis.

Interstate 694 (I-694) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the US state of Minnesota. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with I-94, I-494, and US Highway 52 (US 52) in Maple Grove. The eastern terminus of I-694 is at its junction with I-94 and I-494 at the Woodbury–Oakdale city line. I-694 comprises the northern and northeastern portions of a beltway around the Twin Cities, with I-494 forming the remainder of the beltway. The speed limit is 60 mph (97 km/h). Interstate Highways outside of the loop in Minnesota may be signed as high as 70 mph (110 km/h) but can only reach 60 mph (97 km/h) inside the loop.

I-694 also interchanges with I-35W at New Brighton–Arden Hills and I-35E at Little Canada–Vadnais Heights. I-694 is also concurrent with I-94/US 52 for eight miles (13 km) from Maple Grove to Brooklyn Center. I-694 is 30.8 miles (49.6 km) in length.