Central Ave. NE Summer 2025 engagement summary now available

Thank you to all of those who shared feedback on Central Ave. N.E. (Hwy 65) this summer. A high-level summary of what we heard from the community events, public meetings, and email inquiries can now be found on the project website.

Key themes and insights from community engagement include:

• Multimodal safety: General support for proposed bicycle, pedestrian, and transit improvements, including bus lanes and sidewalk-level separated bike lanes.

• Traffic & lane reduction: The proposed 4-to-3 lane conversion drew both support (for safety and speed reduction) and concern (about congestion and backups).

• Parking: Concerns about parking near businesses, with suggestions for shared parking and off-peak bus lane use.

• Placemaking: Interest in a plantings and public art to make Central Ave. a more enjoyable place to visit.

• Construction impacts: Concerns from business owners about construction phasing and access changes.

As we move toward municipal consent and final design, MnDOT will continue outreach to keep the community informed and address concerns. Construction is expected to begin in 2028.

For more details, please visit our website and stay tuned for further updates. Thank you for your continued engagement and support.

More about this project

We are collaborating with local agencies and the public to create a new road design for Central Ave. (Hwy 65) between the Mississippi River and I-694. As part of this project, we are working closely with Metro Transit on the integration of the METRO F Line, a planned bus rapid transit line that will provide improved transit service on the Route 10 corridor.

Construction for this project is scheduled to start in spring 2028.

More information, visit the Central Ave. Northeast project webpage. If you have questions, please contact the project team.