and flow of traffic. Lone drivers were previously allowed to use the express lanes in off-peak times, but this is no longer allowed under the new system unless the sign says the cost is "OPEN", meaning free. The decision to make the nonreversible lanes free on off-hours was reached due to complaints about essentially making a four-lane freeway in an area that, even on off-hours, sorely needed six. Toll rates are expected to generally fall between $1.00 and $4.00, with a potential maximum of $8.00. Off-hours are charged as $0.25 on the reversible lanes and free on the one-way lanes. The white line-separated and reversible expressway sections are priced separately. The lanes are still open free to busses, motorcycles, and cars with two or more people, no matter the time of day, and such vehicles do not require transponders to use the lanes. Using the express lanes as a lone driver without a transponder during charged periods or crossing the double white lines will result in a large fine placed upon the driver. To enter and exit properly, vehicles must use an entry point without double white lines. The line rule is true even when the lane is free of charge. Transponders began to be sold a few weeks before the May 16, 2005, opening date. By June 2005, about 6,500 drivers had signed up for the system. History The highway, a four lane divided highway, used to be designated as Wayzata Boulevard and US 12. The construction of I-394 was authorized in 1968. Funding became available after the canceled I-335 freeway project in 1978. I-335 had been planned to be a northern loop around downtown Minneapolis that would have passed through northeast Minneapolis. The money was substituted to the I-394 project. Wayzata Boulevard/US 12, starting in 1982, was to be redesigned as I-394. Construction of I-394 occurred mainly in the 1980s, starting at the western terminus in Minnetonka and opening in sections toward downtown Minneapolis throughout the late 1980s. The entire route of I-394 was officially opened in 1991. A former lane drop of I-394 at the Penn Avenue exit was eliminated in 2000. Exit list References External links MnPASS Information about I-394 at interstate-guide.com I-394 Hennepin County Auxiliary Interstate Highways Interstate Highways in Minnesota Interstate 394 3 394 Interstate 94-3 Interstate 94-3 94-3