Minneapolis celebrates 30 miles of streets improved

After a long and busy construction season, Minneapolis city officials held a little celebration Tuesday touting the accomplishments of the city's Public Works Department.

City Council members Kevin Reich and Linea Palmisano and Public Works Director Steve Kotke stood on the corner of W. 50th Street and Penn Avenue S. to highlight some of the projects completed in 2014. More than 30 miles of streets were resurfaced or rebuilt and another 18 were sealcoated.

Among the biggest projects now off the "to-do" list is the rebuilding of Penn Avenue. This year, the city rebuilt Penn between 50th and 54th streets. That follows last year's reconstruction from 54th Street to Hwy. 62, the Crosstown.

Here is a breakdown:

Resurfacing: 29.69 miles

Reconstruction: 0.86 miles

Sealcoating: 17.97 miles

Total: 50.72 miles

Here's a rundown of other projects:

Cedar-Riverside: Streets on the western end of reconstructed Riverside Avenue were replaced, including 15th Avenue S., 16th Avenue and S. 4th Street.

S. 4th Street ramp: State, city and county road crews are finishing construction of a new on-ramp from downtown Minneapolis to northbound Interstate 35W at 4th Street. This will alleviate traffic backups on Washington Avenue, which is currently the only downtown access to northbound I-35W.

High-volume streets: Close to 30 miles of streets were resurfaced, including five high-volume streets: 4th Avenue S.; 51st Avenue N.; 58th Street/Crosstown frontage road; Loring Park/North Loop; and SE. Pleasant Street.

Seal coating: Nearly 18 miles of streets and parkways were sealcoated in Minneapolis to prolong the life of the driving surface.

Bicycle improvements: Ten miles of bikeways were created, including on-street and off-street facilities and some Hennepin County and Park Board improvements.

Sidewalks: Sidewalk panels were replaced in several sections of town. Nearly every city street has sidewalks along both sides.

Cedar Avenue sidewalk: From S. 3rd Street to S. 7th Street, crews are expanding the sidewalk on the west side of the street, plus adding lighting, landscaping and more on-street parking.