Residents worry they’ll lose homes, businesses in MnDOT redevelopment of Hwy. 252

Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center residents continue to oppose state plans to reconstruct Highway 252 as a freeway, which many worry will result in the state forcibly taking ownership of their homes and businesses to accommodate construction.

Officials from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and consultants hosted an open house late last month at a business off Highway 252, where they heard a range of disappointments and concerns from residents.

“I feel like this process has been a sham from the beginning and doesn’t respect the public whatsoever,” said Nahid Khan, who has lived in Brooklyn Center for 29 years and participated in a MnDOT advisory committee on the project.

Opposition to the project is growing in the area, Khan said. She’s convinced that MnDOT’s goal all along was to create a six-lane freeway that can serve as a major truck route.

MnDOT wants to convert Highway 252 in Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park from a highway with street level intersections managed with stop lights to a freeway that flows seamlessly into Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis. The highway cuts through one of the most diverse areas of Minnesota.

The roadway, near the Mississippi River, is dangerous, MnDOT says. It has too many crashes, is overly congested and is hard to navigate for pedestrians. The state is considering four designs: three would transform the road into a freeway, and one is a mandated option that would keep the highway as-is. Those designs are currently in a lengthy environmental review phase expected to last until 2026.

The designs don’t reflect the desires of many Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park residents and elected officials, who have asked MnDOT to reconsider its plans and offer designs that work with the road’s existing layout.

Brooklyn Center Mayor April Graves has consistently spoken out against MnDOT’s plan for Highway 252.

“Out of the hundreds and hundreds of comments you received, it didn’t change the plans at all,” Graves said at the time.

MnDOT is plugging ahead, and hopes to finalize a design by 2027, with construction now expected to start in 2029.

State engineers are recommending a route that flows the freeway over key intersections through Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, which will create exit ramps. Details that still need to be determined are noise mitigation, whether the freeway will be four or six lanes, how to best route and prioritize public transit, and how to improve the road for pedestrians and bicyclists.

“Everybody’s not going to like the decisions being made,” MnDOT deputy commissioner Kim Collins told elected officials at an advisory committee meeting last fall.

Surrounding neighborhoods are home to more than 40% people of color and more than 35% of the households are considered low income. Respecting and getting the best outcomes for environmental justice areas is an important part of the process, MnDOT project manager Amber Blanchard said.

One of the biggest fears residents at last month’s open house expressed was losing property through eminent domain, when governments use their power to buy private property for public use by giving “just compensation” to the owner. Homes and businesses sit on land that would need to be converted to exit ramps if MnDOT moves forward with a freeway conversion.

“I’m going to lose friends and neighbors,” said Darryl Sannes, a 35-year resident of Brooklyn Center.

Properties will likely be impacted by the project, Blanchard said, adding that it’s uncertain which properties are at risk of being seized and how many would be affected.

“My goal is still to reduce the amount of property taken,” Blanchard told Sahan Journal at the open house.

Another worry is air pollution. Turning Highway 252 into a freeway will increase the amount of traffic on the road, including from large diesel-powered trucks. MnDOT has yet to conduct its comprehensive air quality analysis on the design options, Blanchard said, but believes a freeway can help reduce local pollution by moving traffic through the corridor instead of stopping and starting at intersections.

Some residents were skeptical of MnDOT’s theory.

“Are they weighing the impact of the semi noise? The semi pollution?” asked Heidi Draeger, who lives near the highway.

Sannes has followed the project for years and participated in a health and equity workgroup. The suggestions that group made, like advancing design options that would lower traffic volume and speed, weren’t reflected in the designs the state is weighing, he said.

“It was very frustrating,” Sannes said. “They seem to be listening to you, but not hearing you.”

A community open house is scheduled for March 27. The project’s policy advisory committee will meet in April. The project can be tracked here.

About the partnership

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for a free newsletter to receive Sahan’s stories in your inbox.