Washington Avenue Reconstruction is Complete!

Meet the new Washington Avenue

Hennepin County, in coordination with the City of Minneapolis and Downtown Improvement District, has completed reconstruction of Washington Avenue South (County Road 152) between Hennepin Avenue and 5th Avenue South.

The project began in 2016 with utility relocation work. For the past two years, crews completed work along the project corridor. The new Washington Avenue features the following upgrades:

For people driving:
•New pavement, resulting in improved driving experiences
•New medians and curbs, as well as refreshed striping, which help define roadway better
•Dedicated turn lanes at key intersections

For people biking:
•One-way dedicated bike lanes in both directions
•Specialty striping for bike lanes
•Special bike traffic signals

For people walking:
•New concrete sidewalks
•More dedicated space

The reconstruction also provided the opportunity to upgrade curb ramps and crosswalk signals to meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities act, as well as the following improvements for safety:
•Shortened crossing distances for people walking
•Behind-the-curb bike lanes
•Striping and stop bars that provide safe distance for all road users

In addition, there is enhanced streetscaping elements, like new pavers, trees and other landscaping. Granite benches, repurposed from Nicollet Avenue, also were added to the corridor.

More information is available at www.hennepin.us/washingtonave.

Visual images of the new Washington Avenue

Early artist's rendering of new Washington Avenue design.

View of completed Washington Avenue in front of 4th Avenue block, roughly approximating the artist's rendering.

View of completed Washington Avenue with all permanent signals functioning, including traffic, pedestrian and cycle track.