More than 150 people attended an open house back in March to give input on designing the Hennepin and Lyndale Avenues intersection and the section where the roads run together between Dunwoody Blvd. and Franklin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis should look like.

Planners took that feedback to come up with a preliminary plans. They will show them off and ask for feedback during an open house from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Avenue.

As anybody who travels the corridor in a vehicle or by bus knows it can be a bear to get through the area. For those on foot or bicycle it can be difficult and dangerous. All in all, 50,000 vehicles, 9,000 transit users and more than 2,000 pedestrians and bicycles pass through the area each day on average.

Minneapolis has secured $7.3 million in federal aid funding to pay for the Hennepin/Lyndale Avenue Reconstruction Project and will use state and local sources, including assessing property owners, to cover the remainder of the $9.1 million project.

Here is a list of enhancements the project will include reconstructing Hennepin and Lyndale Avenues including concrete paving, curb and gutters, pedestrian ramps, striping, lighting and storm sewer. On top of that, the project also aims to incorporate a bunch of enhancements. That is where the public comes in.
Here are some of the project's goals:

  • Improve traffic flow.
  • Upgrade intersections and bike and pedestrian facilities by improving the pedestrian crossing at Dunwoody Blvd.
  • Rebuilding traffic signals, improving pedestrian and bicycling crossing and upgrade the sidewalk at Vinewood Blvd/Oak Grove Street.
  • Improve pedestrian crossing and rebuild traffic signals at Groveland Terrace/Groveland Avenue.
  • Improve pedestrian crossing at Franklin Avenue.

Both Hennepin and Lyndale are major connector routes for commuters going between downtown Minneapolis and Uptown.It's also a link for drivers attempting to access I-94 and I-394.

Numerous churches and attractions, including the Walker Art Center, the Walker Sculpture Garden, Loring Park and Parade Stadium leave little or no room for expanding the roadway.