Shops at 50th and France, the walkable shopping district straddling Edina and Minneapolis, had a rough year marked by orange cones and bus rapid transit construction. So did businesses in east St. Paul, where Gold Line construction closures made it tough for shoppers to reach businesses off Interstate 94. In the west metro, construction of the Green Line extension has prompted detours for cars and cyclists.
As Metro Transit expands its public network, an unprecedented amount of transit construction is tearing through the Twin Cities — sometimes to the frustration of businesses whose customers steer clear. And even as this season’s work slows, there’s more to come, with the start of the Blue Line extension and more bus rapid transit routes in coming years.
“We used to do a mega mega infrastructure project every 10 years,” said Sam O’Connell, the Metropolitan Council’s director of community relations. Now, the transit agency is opening a major transit line roughly every 18 months, as plans and funding come together to significantly fill out the Twin Cities’ transit network.
“If you moved to Minnesota in the early 2000s, you probably didn’t see a lot of transit construction,” she said. “If you just moved in last week, you’re going to see a lot of transit construction.”
The growth of public transit across the metro connects growing communities to jobs, educational opportunities and day-to-day needs like health care, O’Connell said.
But business districts affected by the builds say the lack of resources to help them survive the disruption has caused major hardship, even as it brings opportunities and development.
“We’ve been sort of ringing the alarm bells that it did not go well,” said Rebecca Sorensen, director of the 50th and France Business Association.

Blow to the bottom line
At 50th and France, the construction of two rapid transit bus stops for the E Line was expected to last a maximum of six weeks per stop and wrap up around Labor Day, Sorensen said. Instead, it took six months, finishing in late November.