Two-year Hennepin Avenue reconstruction project begins Monday in Minneapolis

Work to rebuild Hennepin Avenue through south Minneapolis begins Monday, and traffic lanes will be closed or restricted for the next two years.

Bus routes that run on Hennepin between Uptown and downtown will be shifted to Lyndale Avenue, and two others will bypass their normal stops at the Uptown Transit Station, Metro Transit said.

Construction will be in two phases: between 26th and Lake streets this year, then between 26th Street and Douglas Avenue near Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church and the Interstate 94 interchange in 2025.

“The project is an opportunity to update Hennepin Avenue to meet the public’s current and future needs,” the city said in a news release.

Hennepin is one of the busiest streets in Minneapolis, daily carrying 15,000 to 31,000 vehicles, 6,600 transit riders and 220 to 280 bicyclists, according to the city in 2022.

The roughly $32 million project is the thoroughfare’s first major upgrade in more than 65 years. It also has been the source of contention as business owners argued that the loss of curbside parking would drive customers away.

When work is complete, Hennepin Avenue will have one traffic lane in each direction and left turn lanes at key intersections. Parking will be allowed in bus priority lanes during nonpeak hours, and the eastside of the street will have some parking and loading bays, wider sidewalks and a two-way protected bicycle lane.

The layout also provides space for enhanced stations being built for the future METRO E Line, a bus rapid transit line that will largely replace Route 6 in December 2025. The line will connect the University of Minnesota with downtown Minneapolis and Southdale Center in Edina.