|
Web: GreenLineExt.org
Twitter: @GreenLineExtMN
Construction Hotline: 612-373-3933
Construction season is in full swing. To ensure community members are aware of upcoming construction activity the construction update will be sent on a weekly basis through the bulk of the 2023 construction season, and the project office is hosting three virtual community town halls to inform community members about upcoming work and associated impacts. Each town hall will feature a project overview as well as community-specific information about anticipated 2023 construction activities. A presentation from project staff will be followed by time for Q&A. Registration is not required and all are welcome to attend.
Dates and times for town halls for specific communities:
-
Eden Prairie and Minnetonka Town Hall: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 6:00-7:00 PM
-
Hopkins and St. Louis Park Town Hall: Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 6:00-7:00 PM
-
Minneapolis Town Hall: Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 6:00-7:00 PM
Visit the Green Line Extension’s Meetings and Events page for information on how to join each town hall. If you are not able to attend a town hall, they will be recorded and posted to the Meetings and Events page of the project’s website.
 The Cedar Lake Channel Trail Bridge continues to take shape in 2023. In conjunction with the reconstruction of the historic WPA wall, crews are also busy working on the bridge structure over the Channel. The above photo shows the completed LRT bridge structure. When complete, LRT, freight rail, and trail users will cross Cedar Lake Channel on new bridges.
Eden Prairie Highlights
Upcoming:
- The intersection of West 70th Street and Shady Oak Road will close for utility and roadway work for about four weeks starting April 14.
- Flying Cloud Drive will be closed for one day on April 14 near the Performing Institute of Minnesota Arts High School to allow the Systems contractor to install a Traction Power Substation (TPSS).
- The on-ramp to eastbound Highway 212 at Valley View Road is expected to close for one day during the week of April 24 to conduct work on an adjacent wall.
Ongoing:
- The Highway 212 off-ramp to Prairie Center Drive is closed for roadway work until mid-July. Follow posted detour signage. See Eden Prairie Detour Map.
- Construction at SouthWest Station continues into the spring.
Visit our website for more details and visuals of construction activities in Eden Prairie.
Minnetonka Highlights
Ongoing:
- Bren Road East is closed near Bren Road Station Apartments until mid-July to complete road construction. Follow posted detour signage. See Minnetonka Detour Maps.
- Crews continue to work on the Minnetonka-Hopkins LRT bridge.
- A lane closure is in place on Yellow Circle Drive near the LRT Highway 62 tunnel site for approximately eight weeks for Systems work.
Visit our website for more details and visuals of construction activities in Minnetonka.
Hopkins Highlights
Upcoming:
- 5th Avenue South will be closed for approximately 1 month starting April 24 for median and road construction. See Hopkins Detour Maps.
- Sidewalk impacts expected on the south side of Excelsior Boulevard starting April 17 for 1-2 months between 8th Avenue South and 5th Avenue South. Follow posted detour signage.
Ongoing:
- K-Tel/5th Street is closed to through traffic for the 2023 construction season for road, utility, and rail work. Follow posted detour signage. See Hopkins Detour Maps.
- The west sidewalk on Blake Road remains closed. Please use the sidewalk on the east side of Blake Road.
- The northeast and southwest sidewalks at Excelsior Boulevard and Jackson Avenue/Milwaukee Street will remain closed.
Visit our website for more details and visuals of construction activities in Hopkins.
St. Louis Park Highlights
Upcoming:
- Railroad Avenue is expected to close on April 17 for approximately two months.
Ongoing:
- Beltline Boulevard is closed through April to complete LRT crossing installation and roadway work. See St. Louis Park Detour Maps.
- The east sidewalk along Wooddale Avenue remains closed. Please use the sidewalk on the west side of Wooddale Avenue.
Visit our website for more details and visuals of construction activities in St. Louis Park.
Minneapolis Highlights
Upcoming:
- A virtual community meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 6:00 PM to review upcoming construction activities at the intersection of Penn Avenue and South Wayzata Boulevard in the Bryn Mawr Neighborhood of Minneapolis. More information on how to join the meeting is on the Meetings and Events page of the GLE project website. This meeting will be recorded and posted to the Meetings and Events page. All are welcome to attend and participate.
- Initial site preparation will commence at West 21st Street on April 17 for upcoming construction activities, including targeted pavement and sidewalk removals, clearing of vegetation and construction of a temporary access road.
Ongoing:
- Secant pile installation is complete. Grouting work will occur at the secant wall site for 1-2 weeks.
- Sanitary sewer force main work has commenced at Depot Street. This work involves the removal of concrete and pavement, the use of vacuum trucks, excavation, soil hauling, and installing the force main in its final location. The work is expected to continue through June.
- As part of the sewer force main work, the intersection of Dean Court and West 28th Street is closed.
- Pumps and generators will run overnight periodically in various parts of the construction corridor, especially at the Kenilworth LRT tunnel site. Pumps are used to manage water, and generators are used to power the pumps as well as to power equipment that keeps pipes or other elements warm during freezing temperatures.
- Cedar Lake Parkway is closed through June 2023 to advance LRT tunnel construction. Pedestrian and bicycle access is maintained via a temporary bridge located just south of where Cedar Lake Parkway crosses the rail corridor.
- The Cedar Lake Channel is closed to recreational use through spring 2023. The Kenilworth Lagoon is accessible from Lake of the Isles. This closure is necessary to remove and reconstruct historic retaining walls in the channel that were originally built under the Works Progress Administration. This is mitigation work that is required per the Project’s environmental documentation.
- Intermittent overnight lane closures will be in effect on I-394 under Penn Avenue through April.
- Pile-driving activities continue at Bryn Mawr Station area into spring to construct retaining walls. Lane closures are in place on Wayzata Boulevard at the intersection of Penn Avenue.
- Construction at and around Bryn Mawr Station continues for work on the pedestrian bridge and station.
- Glenwood Avenue between Lyndale Avenue North and North 12th Street remains closed for construction of the LRT bridge and two roadway bridges. See Minneapolis detour map.
- Royalston Avenue between 5th Avenue and Border Avenue is open to roadway traffic in a northbound-only condition.
Visit our website for more details and visuals of construction activities in Minneapolis
Trail Highlights
- Various trails within the Opus area are closed as crews advance many project elements. The Opus trails are anticipated to reopen in summer 2023.
- The Minnesota River Bluffs Trail between Shady Oak Road and 11th Avenue in Hopkins is anticipated to reopen in late 2023.
- The Minnesota River Bluffs Trail between 11th Avenue and Excelsior Boulevard is open for local use.
- The segment of the South Cedar Lake LRT Trail between Excelsior Boulevard in Hopkins and Blake Road remains closed and is anticipated to reopen in 2024.
- The segment of the South Cedar Lake LRT Trail between Blake Road and just west of Louisiana Avenue is anticipated to reopen in summer 2023.
- The segment of the South Cedar Lake LRT Trail between just west of Louisiana Avenue and Wooddale Avenue in St. Louis Park remains closed and is anticipated to reopen in 2024.
- The segment of the South Cedar Lake LRT Trail between Wooddale Avenue and Beltline Boulevard is open for local use.
- The South Cedar Lake LRT Trail between Beltline Boulevard and France Avenue in St. Louis Park remains closed and is anticipated to reopen in 2024.
- Temporary trails near Chowen Avenue and West Lake Street remain in place. For your safety and the safety of work crews, please follow signage for the temporary trail and stay clear of the work zone.
- The Kenilworth Trail from the Midtown Greenway and West 21st Street will remain closed until the completion of LRT tunnel construction in 2025.
- The Kenilworth Trail from West 21st Street to the Bryn Mawr Station area is expected to close on April 24. Signage will be installed to reflect a modified detour primarily utilizing Kenwood Parkway. A detour map will be provided in next week’s update.
- The Luce Line Regional Trail bridge that crosses the BNSF rail corridor at Bryn Mawr Meadows Park is closed. A new bridge is being reconstructed to connect the new Bassett Creek Valley Station with the Park and is scheduled to reopen in 2025.
- The North Cedar Lake Trail east of Van White Memorial Boulevard is anticipated to reopen in 2025.
Project staff share the community’s desire to see the trails reopen as soon as possible. The project office will continue to work with the contractor to improve on these opening dates.
What should Metro Transit’s network look like? Over the coming year, we will develop a plan for the future that continues to invest in improving our service as more resources, such as additional drivers, are available. We want your input in shaping our plans for today and the next five years to best meet the needs of our region.
We want to hear from you! Take this online survey by May 15. You will be asked questions about your transit values and priorities. This information will help shape our future decision-making framework.
|
