Part of Hennepin Avenue reopens, easing some Uptown pain

• Hennepin Avenue's new design features wider sidewalks, protected bike paths and lanes dedicated to transit buses during rush hour, city officials say.

The big picture: Prior to construction (and even before the COVID-19 pandemic), many Uptown restaurants, retailers and other commercial tenants had closed or were struggling to find their footing.

• Road construction added to the pain this year. Until recently, work for Metro Transit's B Line bus rapid transit project also snarled Uptown traffic on Lake Street and Lagoon Avenue.

What they're saying: "This is a corridor that will now be better than it was before," Mayor Jacob Frey said at a Monday press conference on the rebuilt Hennepin.

• "What we've created is a beautiful canvas on which amazing things can rise, and the economy in this area can come back in a really big way."
• "The construction added to those difficulties — but will make them better," Isles Bun & Coffee owner Jeff Veigel told reporters. "We're looking forward to this phase being finished, access being restored and the revitalization of the area."

Zoom in: Tuesday's reopening ends the first phase of Hennepin's reconstruction, which stretched from Lake Street to 26th Avenue South.

• The new design reduces Hennepin from two vehicle lanes in each direction to one.

• During morning and afternoon rush hour, only Metro Transit buses can run in the second lane. Outside those windows, this "dynamic lane" converts into paid street parking.

Flashback: The parking setup was the result of a 2022 compromise between the Minneapolis City Council and Frey, who vetoed an earlier proposal after businesses voiced concern about the loss of on-street parking spaces.

• When buses aren't running in Hennepin's new dynamic lanes, the street features "about 85%" of its former parking spaces, a city spokesperson told Axios.

Plus: B Line work on Lake and Lagoon is "almost entirely complete," Metro Transit spokesperson Drew Kerr told Axios.

What's next: Traffic pain in and around the neighborhood isn't over yet.

• Starting next spring, the second phase of the street rebuild will close Hennepin between 26th and Interstate 94.
• In 2027, the county plans to rebuild Lyndale Avenue in the adjacent Lyn-Lake district.