Bike trails along Green Line LRT extension reopen with celebratory ride

It’s not every day that Met Council President Charlie Zelle steps away from his desk in the middle of a workday to go on a 5-mile bike ride, but last Tuesday was a special occasion.

Zelle and Jim Alexander, project director for the Green Line Extension, led a public bike ride to officially reopen the Cedar Lake LRT Regional Trail and highlight progress being made on the light-rail line that will connect downtown Minneapolis with Eden Prairie starting in 2027.

“This is a celebration to open trails that have been closed since 2019, and experience it with the people,” Alexander said following the ride that started behind the Greenway Lakes Commons mall on Lake Street in Minneapolis and ended in downtown Hopkins.

Bill Regan, of south Minneapolis, was one of about 50 cyclists who joined the ride and was happy to have the paved trail — which follows the former railroad lines of the Great Northern Railway and the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway — back open.

“Before construction, this was one of my favorite routes to bike,” he said. “Now that it is open, it’s even better with smoother trails and safer crossings. I am excited to ride on it.”

The rebuilt trail includes a bridge carrying bicyclists over Beltline Boulevard in St. Louis Park and tunnels at Wooddale and Louisiana avenues and Blake Road. The additions allow cyclists to cross the busy streets without having to mingle with traffic.

“The tunnels are a big improvement,” said Chris Nelson, administrator of the SWLRT Trail Status Facebook group, who also joined the ride. Before tunnels were put in, Nelson said, cyclists at busy Blake Road were forced to play a human version of the video game Frogger while crossing the five-lane thoroughfare. “No two people did it the same. I’m happy with the final project.”

Zelle, too, said he was pleased, calling the details from the seamless connections leading to park-and-ride lots to zig-zagging sidewalks at stations designed to get people to look both ways “impressive.”

Alexander said that construction on the line sometimes called the Southwest Light Rail is 75% done, but the last 25% will be the most challenging. That means other trails adjacent to the tracks will remain closed.

The Kenilworth Trail from the Midtown Greenway to W. 21st Street is closed as work on the Green Line tunnel rolls on. The trail is also closed in the vicinity of the Bryn Mawr Station. As for trails that run behind Target Field and Target Center, Alexander said he expects those to open before the 2024 riding season ends.

I-94 ramp closures in downtown Minneapolis

Attention eastbound I-94 commuters who use the 4th Street ramp to get into downtown Minneapolis: Starting Thursday, your ramp will be closed until early October. Drivers will be shifted over to Lyndale Avenue and 7th Street.

On Sept. 3, the outbound ramp from 3rd Street to westbound I-94 will shut down. Commuters will be directed to head north on Washington Avenue and get on I-94 at 22nd Avenue N.

MnDOT crews will be repairing bridge piers and installing new lighting while the ramps are closed.