Minneapolis kicks off road construction season

By Jessica Lee

Star Tribune

The city of Minneapolis is embarking on a busy road construction season, rebuilding, repaving or sealing more than 50 miles of roadway.

With Minnesota Vikings stadium construction and other projects underway, downtown Minneapolis will be the focus of much of the roadwork.

Along with street reconstruction and resurfacing work, utility crews will be working on underground lines and mains, city officials say.

The city has mapped downtown street projects to help motorists navigate the area during the construction season.

Maps are available here.

Here are some details by the city:

2015 street construction by the numbers

Resurfacing projects 30.38 miles
Reconstruction projects 3.28 miles
Seal coating projects 20.20 miles
Total 53.86 miles

2015 street construction at a glance

Downtown projects – There will be a lot of construction on downtown streets this season. In many cases, the work is being performed by utilities working on buried lines.

Nicollet Mall – The entire mall will soon be reconstructed. Before that work gets underway, crews will be updating utility lines beneath the roadway.

6th Street south – This project, led by the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, is converting 6th Street to two-way traffic from 11th Avenue South to Park Avenue.

LaSalle Avenue – Starting in April, crews will reconstruct LaSalle Avenue from Eighth Street to 12th Street South.

Hennepin-Lyndale corridor– The Minnesota Department of Transportation will redeck bridges that connect the Hennepin-Lyndale corridor to Interstate 94 and Interstate 394. City crews will also be replacing and renovating a sanitary sewer line located alongside the Lowry Hill Tunnel and underneath the Loring Bike Trail in preparation for the roadway work next year, when the corridor itself will be reconstructed.

Other major street projects:

26th Avenue North – The two-year project involves improving the entire length of this North Side street. Two sections of 26th Avenue will be renovated this year: one from Theodore Wirth Parkway to West Broadway Avenue, and the other from Lyndale Avenue North to Second Street North.

Minnehaha Avenue/Nawadaha Boulevard – This is another two-year project. The work, led by Hennepin County, will involve reconstructing Minnehaha Avenue from 38th Street East to Nawadaha Boulevard this year, and from Lake Street to 38th Street East next year.

Minnehaha Avenue – Separate from the County-led project, the City of Minneapolis will be reconstructing a two-block section of Minnehaha Avenue, between 24th Street East and 26th Street East.

Eighth Street SE – The roadway will be reconstructed east of 15th Avenue SE to the dead end.
24th Street East and Snelling Avenue – This fall, crews will reconstruct Snelling Avenue between 22nd Street East and 24th Street East. One block of 24th Street will also be reconstructed. Before that street work begins, A storm surge chamber will be added to eliminate storm water geysers in the area.

Street resurfacing – More than 30 miles of City streets will be resurfaced throughout Minneapolis this season including 29 miles in the Powderhorn West and Penn/McKinley neighborhoods.

St. Anthony Parkway Bridge – Crews will begin dismantling and replacing the St. Anthony Parkway Bridge, which spans a rail yard in Northeast Minneapolis.

Burnham Road Bridge – Deck support structure will be reconstructed on this bridge in the Cedar-Isles-Dean neighborhood.

11th Avenue South Bridge – Crews will repair and resurface this bridge, which crosses 4th Street South in Downtown East.

Seal coating – Streets that are in good shape can be seal coated to prolong the life of the driving surface. City crews plan to sealcoat more than 20 miles of roadway in Minneapolis.

Parkways – Public Works and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board collaborate regarding pavement management, and maintenance and construction of the parkway system. A little more than a mile of roadway on Cedar Lake Parkway and West River Parkway will be resurfaced by City crews in 2015, and another 2.14 miles will be seal coated.

Jessica Lee is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.