It's still two years out on the construction schedule, but the City of Minneapolis has preliminary plans for a big re-do of 8th Street in the downtown. On Thursday,officials will share them with the public during two open houses at the IDS Crystal Court.
Project staff will talk about the project and accept feedback in sessions that will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.
In the summer of 2019, the city is planning to rebuild the entire section of 8th Street between Hennepin Avenue and Chicago Avenue, a complete building front to building front. In essence, that means all sidewalks, driveways, traffic signals, lighting and all utilities will be ripped out and replaced.
The new 8th Street will have wider sidewalks, enhanced transit amenities and services and improved crosswalks. Streetscaping and landscaping also will be incorporated into the project.
