Traffic on the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area’s freeway is on the rise, which has increased the pressure on the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to find a solution, according to the latest Metropolitan Freeway System Congestion Report.

According to the report, released by the department, traffic on the freeway has increased from 21.1% in 2014 to 23.4% in 2015.

MnDOT freeway operations engineer Brian Kary said: “Congestion in Metropolitan areas is often inescapable.

"We try to strike a reasonable balance between existing road capacity and the demand for roads by managing traffic particularly at peak-travel times."

“We try to strike a reasonable balance between existing road capacity and the demand for roads by managing traffic particularly at peak-travel times.”

MnDOT collects congestion data through surveillance detectors in the roads and through field observations.

For the 2015 congestion report, the Regional Transportation Management Center gathered data from 3,500 detectors embedded in the mainline roadway on Twin Cities’ freeways.

The report has identified some strategies to control traffic. These include active Ttaffic management, spot mobility improvements, and MnPASS.