Washington Avenue Reconstruction Work Resumes
County Road 152 in downtown Minneapolis
Hennepin County, in coordination with the City of Minneapolis, is reconstructing Washington Avenue South (County Road 152) between Hennepin Avenue and 5th Avenue South.
Utility relocation work began early in 2016. County crews began reconstruction work in August 2016. The project is scheduled to be complete in 2017.
Detours and traffic considerations
Reconstruction work resumes March 27
Starting Monday, March 27, eastbound traffic on Washington Avenue (County Road 152) will be detoured to 4th Street between Hennepin and 5th avenues. (NOTE: This is an update from a previous message that said the detour would extend to Park Avenue). This detour will remain in place until fall.
Westbound Washington Avenue will remain open through 2017, although some short-term lane reductions are possible.
The closure will allow crews to resume work on the north side of Washington Avenue between 4th and 3rd avenues and to begin work on the south side of Washington Avenue between 2nd and Hennepin avenues.
Crews are removing and replacing utilities, as well as reconstructing the road and sidewalks. New traffic signals will be installed. And, there will be a new cycle track (off-street bike path) on both sides of the road.
Map of detours for various stages (PDF)
Cycle track to remain closed
The new cycle track (off-street bike path) will remain closed until new traffic lights with bike-specific signals are installed. This is to ensure the safety of bicyclists and other road users. If you are traveling by bicycle in the area, you may consider choosing an alternate route such as:
- 2nd Street for traveling east or west
- 3rd Street for traveling east
- 4th Street for traveling west
- West River Parkway for traveling east or west
All these routes run parallel to Washington Avenue and have dedicated bicycle infrastructure.