Street, Road and Highway Projects

[COLSLAW5]

don't know how you would do it but i would love to see a city wide map with all these plans overlaid on it so we could see how the network is coming together over the next several years.

sorta like this

https://app.publiccoordinate.com/#/proj ... OBline/map

[Wezle]

Hopefully with the 2050 comprehensive plan, they at the very least update a lot of the city and county bicycle network maps. I don't think the city map has been updated since 2020 or so.

https://go.minneapolismn.gov/final-plan ... es-network

[Rube Dali]

One of the Jackson Street bridges in St. Paul(the one over the railroad tracks) closed unexpectedly last week due to faster deterioration than Ramsey County was expecting.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/06/0 ... inspection

[Didier]

Apparently Lake Street Bridge is now under construction of some sort, even though it’s already quite congested with the I-94 construction pushing people onto city streets. I believe there’s also construction on multiple downtown bridges. Seems like really great planning.

[Nick]

It has started to feel like an elaborate prank/performance art.

[kdo5581]

I generally try to give agencies the benefit of the doubt on construction stuff - things need to be fixed! But yeah it really does feel like there's been an unusual lack of coordination with some of these projects. I'd like to see more specifics on the whole "we're trying to fit in a bunch of projects that got federal money" line, because it seems a little "just so". I'm sure it's a factor but was there really no way to flex some of these closures? We justifiably get annoyed around here about the lack of coordination for eg bike route crossings, road closures also deserve some scrutiny.

[Nick]

Yes, complaining about traffic is a very low status behavior, and yet...........................................

[Mdcastle]

It's getting frustrating trying to get anywhere from Bloomington with road work on I-35W north and south and I-494 east and west...

[wingedmolotov]

Bloomington is seeking $4.4 million in state funding to reconstruct Old Shakopee Road/98th/CSAH 1 between Aldrich and 2nd Avenue. Highlights include a shrunken intersection with Lyndale: removing the double left turns, removing the free rights, and reducing the section of three thru-lanes near I-35W to two. Wide multi-use paths on both sides of the road, some median closures and turn restrictions and a ped crossing at Pillsbury. I'd prefer actual bike lanes and sidewalk as opposed to the multi-use trail, but it's a great step in the right direction. Total project cost is estimated $22 million.

https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/b ... df#page=11 (page 11)

[DanPatchToget]

An article I wrote about Old Shakopee and the need for greatly improved bike/pedestrian infrastructure along this corridor from 5 years ago: https://streets.mn/2020/07/17/old-shako ... -corridor/

If what they're proposing goes through then that will be quite an improvement, at least for that segment of Old Shakopee, but I also would much prefer pedestrians and cyclists are separated, especially for a busy corridor like this with a lot of destinations that a significant amount of people can and do access by foot or bike.

[twincitizen]

It costs $22 million to build less than a mile of road? I get why that might be the case in a downtown environment, but here?

Also, yikes at all of the block-length right turn lanes shown in that layout. Bloomington gonna Bloomington.

[DanPatchToget]

I just now remembered a ped crossing with RRFBs was built just east of Nicollet Avenue recently, but it's not shown on the map.

[wingedmolotov]

I just now remembered a ped crossing with RRFBs was built just east of Nicollet Avenue recently, but it's not shown on the map.

Yeah, I was wondering about that.


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[Mdcastle]

Things I like: Mups instead of bicycle lanes, removing the free right turns and dual west to south double turn, presumably finally getting flashing yellow arrows.
Things I don't like: removing the north and south right turn lanes and the doulble east to north turn lane, keeping the Garfield traffic signal

Flashing yellow arrows should help, that intersection is still a huge pain to get through in a car even before reducing capacity, traffic regularly backs up well beyond the left turn lanes to make left turns off Lyndale. I live a bit south and east of here on Pleasant and I have to drive through this intersection daily, usually several times daily to get to fast-food on Lyndale and Valley West or to the I-35W ramps. I'd also wish they'd built a median across Pleasant, not being able to make a left turn is a worthwhile tradeoff for reducing the traffic driving by my house. There's regularly cut-through traffic on my street that doesn't live here but is trying to avoid all the congestion at 98th and Lyndale.

[DanPatchToget]

Things I like: Mups instead of bicycle lanes

I get some people don't want to bike on the road, whether there's an unprotected or protected bike lane, but forcing pedestrian and bike traffic to mix, especially on a busy corridor like this, is just not how to design good infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. For those of us who bike to get places it's difficult to reach speeds that are above a leisurely pace when there's one or more side streets/driveways every block that typically have hard bumps and bad blindspots where a car could pop out in front of us at the last second, and then on top of that having pedestrians taking the entire width of the trail and are completely oblivious when we're trying to give them a heads up of our approach.

I'd rather we have a slightly wider sidewalk for those who don't feel comfortable biking on the street and will bike at a leisurely pace, and bike lanes (preferably protected) for those who are more confident biking on the street and want to go at faster speeds without having to dodge pedestrians and cross traffic.

[wingedmolotov]

My personal preference is sidewalk level protected, barrier protected, shared trail, on street lane. But there's clearly a decent amount of RoW here, so I don't see why we should settle for anything other than full protection.

[Mdcastle]

A "slightly wider sidewalk" is still way too bumpy to ride a bicycle on, even at slower speed that kids other non "strong and fearless" types do, and eScooters aren't allowed on them.

[wingedmolotov]

E-scooters are treated like e-bikes, right? So they’d be allowed on sidewalks too.


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[Mdcastle]

Minnesota Statute 169.225

"Subd. 2.Sidewalk and passenger prohibition. No person may operate a motorized foot scooter upon a sidewalk, except when necessary to enter or leave adjacent property."

[Mdcastle]

Kind of curious how many of the newly planted trees will be salvagable.

Also the new right turn lane from 98th to northbound I-35W will be extremely welcome. That's how I get ont the freeway if I'm going north and typically a car that wants to go straight will be stopped in the right lane, blocking a dozen cars that want to turn onto the freeway.

FWIW I'll admit to riding my eScooter down the sidewalk on 98th street as to avoid getting creamed riding in a traffic lane, have seen other people do it, and the cops ignore it. I've also seen kids under 12 riding them and teenagers riding without a helmet and the cops don't care about those either. I have solid wheels with no suspension though so it's Extremely bumpy.