Central City Tunnel Construction Project Partially Visible From the Stone Arch Bridge

By Doug Verdier

People walking across the Stone Arch Bridge likely have wondered about all the construction going on in the bluff beneath West River Parkway near the Guthrie Theater. Well, wonder no more! What they are seeing is a part of the Central City Tunnel Construction project that has been ongoing since 2021 and is scheduled for completion in 2023. 

A new tunnel is being constructed under Washington Avenue S between Nicollet Mall and Chicago Avenue. It will run parallel to the existing tunnel. The existing tunnel will also be enlarged under Chicago Avenue between Washington Avenue and the river. The City of Minneapolis Public Works Department is in charge of the project.

.

The goals of this project are to increase the amount of stormwater the Central City tunnels can handle and to reduce the possibility of the existing tunnel failing. Additionally, the new tunnel will reduce pressure in the existing tunnel, provide more room for future growth, and reduce the need for future repairs.

The Central City Tunnel System is a system of stormwater tunnels that are built deep into the sandstone ground in Minneapolis. The tunnels are approximately 70 feet below the street surface and collect stormwater runoff for nearly all of Downtown. 

The new tunnel outlet excavation area as seen from the Stone Arch Bridge.

A closer view of the tunnel outlet excavation area gives a sense of the scale of the project at the access location near the Mississippi River.