Minnesota Truck Bans & Hazmat Routes

Where Minnesota keeps trucks out

Minnesota has two real ones. Minneapolis park parkways, the Grand Rounds loop like Minnehaha and West River Parkway, bar commercial vehicles except a brief local delivery (Minneapolis Park Board ordinances). And the Lowry Hill Tunnel on I-94 bans placarded hazmat, which must take the signed Prohibited Vehicle Route around the tunnel (MnDOT Minnesota Trucking Regulations, Section 17). There is no standing weight or semi ban in the tunnel; the 9,000 lb ban ran only during the 2017 I-94 resurfacing. A car GPS knows none of this.

Key restrictions

• Minneapolis park parkways (Grand Rounds: Minnehaha, West River, Theodore Wirth) bar commercial vehicles except brief local delivery
• Lowry Hill Tunnel (I-94): placarded hazmat banned, and MnDOT signs a Prohibited Vehicle Route around it
• No standing semi or weight ban in the Lowry Hill Tunnel; the 9,000 lb limit was a 2017 resurfacing measure that ended with the work
• Twin Cities post designated truck routes and street weight limits; a car GPS won't know the park parkways

• Parkway / road ban: Minneapolis park parkways, the Grand Rounds loop such as Minnehaha Parkway, West River Parkway, and Theodore Wirth Parkway, bar commercial vehicles and trucks except a brief local delivery, under Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board ordinance. These are park roads, not a NY-style low-bridge parkway system.
• Hazmat: The Lowry Hill Tunnel on I-94 in Minneapolis bans placarded hazmat; those loads must follow signed hazmat truck routes around it. No other major tunnel bans statewide. Placarded loads otherwise default to the Interstates and state-designated preferred routes under 49 CFR 397.
• Through-truck routes: Minneapolis and St. Paul designate truck routes and post weight limits, and Minneapolis park parkways are effectively cars-and-local-traffic only. A through truck with no local stop stays on the designated network; a local truck leaves it only for the most direct path to and from its stop.
• Fine: A placarded load in the Lowry Hill Tunnel, or off the signed Prohibited Vehicle Route around it, can draw state and federal hazmat penalties. Commercial vehicles on Minneapolis park parkways face a park-ordinance citation. The $300 tunnel fine went with the temporary 9,000 lb truck ban during the 2017 I-94 construction and is not a standing penalty.

More for Minnesota