Author Archives: pmeier

Lyndale Construction: Status Update for February 2, 2012

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On January 18, 2012, NEHBA and the Hennepin County co-sponsored a meeting on the Lyndale Bridge Construction.

Three action items were requested by business owners:

  • Way-finding signage needs to be adjusted so it does not appear that Lyndale is closed from 54th up to Minnehaha Parkway. Responsible Party: County
  • Alternate detour routes need to be approved to provide additional access to the business district. Responsible Party: City/County 
  • Signal light timing needs to be adjusted on the approved detour route(s) to facilitate ease of traffic and safety. Responsible Party: City

NEHBA has been working with the County and City on each action item during the last two weeks.  As of February 1st, the following actions have been taken:

SIGNAGE   New signage will be posted by Wednesday, February 8th to indicate Lyndale Avenue is open from 54th Street to Minnehaha Parkway. The signs will read ”Lyndale Ave Open to EB Minnehaha Pkwy“.

The location of the three signs are:

  • One sign facing south on Lyndale Avenue at 54th Street. This sign will notify the northbound traffic that Lyndale Avenue is opened to the Parkway.
  • One sign facing west on east bound 54th Street. This sign will notify traffic traveling east on 54th Street that Lyndale Avenueis opened to the Parkway.
  • One sign facing east on West bound 56th Street. This sign will notify traffic traveling west on 54th St that Lyndale Avenue is opened to the Parkway.

DETOUR

  • At this time the City will not allow Nicollet Avenue to be designated as an official detour route.
  • NEHBA produced a detour map that includes both Penn (the official route) and Nicollet as detours.
  • NEHBA will provide a link to a link to a download/print detour map on Monday, February 6th.

 SIGNAL TIMING

  • NEHBA continues to work with the City Staff on what can be done to adjust the signal timing to accommodate changing traffic patterns, allowing for smooth, safe traffic flow.

NEHBA will continue to provide business owners with timely updates as well as provide ongoing support through the Experience Southwest marketing strategy.

Regards,

Matt and Jen

Matt Perry  mattp@pobox.com  612.839.3320

Jennifer Y. Borger  jyborger@gmail.com 612.860.2444 cell

Recap of NEHBA Meeting with Area Businesses

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Thank you to those who were able to join us for the meeting on Friday January 27th for an update on NEHBA’s efforts related to the bridge closure and a discussion of the next steps for the project. Please click here to review the meeting notes. If you are unable to open the document, please email Jennifer Borger (Coordinator & Infrastructure Specialist for the Nicollet-East Harriet Business Association) or call her cell: 612-860-2444.

NEHBA will be utilizing it’s resources and relationships to continue to promote the businesses in the 54th & Lyndale Business node including refreshing the holiday marketing brochures. We will also be working with print media including the Southwest Journal, PATCH and neighborhood organization newsletters to ensure that there is a focus on the area affected by the bridge closure and street construction.

The main take-aways from the meeting are:
1. Traffic and way finding signs continue to be a priority and need to be changed to better reflect the actual construction situation
2. This requires a “team effort”
3. A full spectrum of marketing and communication tactics will be needed
4. NEHBA is developing a marketing and communications plan to help businesses affected by the bridge and road projects
5. There is interest among individual businesses working together to leverage marketing efforts

The next meeting will be Friday February 3 at South Lyndale Liquors at 10am. Erin Ungerman, owner and manager of El Meson and Cafe Ena, will join us to talk about some of the strategies that worked for her when Lyndale in front of El Meson was torn up during the summer of 2010.

There is a group of businesses who will be pooling their marketing resources and efforts in addition to what NEHBA can provide. If you are interested in participating please contact Jennifer Borger and she will put you in touch with that group.

Lyndale Bridge Closure Meeting Scheduled with Stakeholders, County and City Officials

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As a business affected by the Lyndale bridge closure that will occur Tuesday, January 17, you are invited to a meeting on Wednesday, January 18 with Hennepin County Commissioner Dorfman, the Hennepin County Transportation Senior Project Manager, representatives from City Council Member Hodges’ office, City Council Member Quincy’s office and NEHBA. The meeting will take place at the Washburn Library, 5244 Lyndale Ave S, lower level meeting room from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.

This will be the first of regularly scheduled meetings with stakeholders to both provide information about the project and to hear concerns, comments and recommendations.

NOTE: This is a separate meeting from NEHBA’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday, January 18 from 6-8 pm at Frame Ups. You are invited to attend the evening meeting for some light conversation and socializing with other business owners.

Lyndale Avenue Bridge Closes for Construction Jan. 17

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Jan. 12, 2012

Hennepin County News
Public Affairs • 612-348-3848 • 300 S. Sixth St., Minneapolis, MN 55487-0011

Contacts: Don Shaffer, Project Engineer: 612-282-5538 Cara Lee, Public Affairs: 612-348-6883

Construction on the replacement Lyndale Avenue Bridge begins Tuesday, Jan. 17, which is two weeks earlier than planned.

The Lyndale Avenue Bridge will be closed to traffic while the new bridge is constructed, and a signed detour will be posted. The bridge closure is scheduled to last through October of this year. Reconstruction of Lyndale Avenue from the bridge south to 56th Street will begin in the spring and the road will remain open to traffic during reconstruction.

“This is an earlier start to construction than we had previously planned, but the mild winter and completion of all necessary approvals means that our crews can get to work,” said Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman.

“We’re very pleased that the final phases of Lyndale Avenue construction will be substantially complete this construction season. It’s been a long haul for the community, but the end’s in sight.”

The official signed detour routes are:

  • South bound traffic – West on 50th Street to Penn Avenue, south on Penn Avenueto 54th Street, east on 54th Street to Lyndale Avenue.
  • North bound traffic – West on 54th Street to Penn Avenue, north on Penn Avenueto 50th Street, east on 50th Street to Lyndale Avenue.

East and west bound Minnehaha Parkway will remain open during the bridge construction project. Bike and pedestrian paths along Minnehaha Creek will also remain open, except for the trail portion under the bridge, which is currently closed and will remain so until the bridge is complete.

The Lyndale Avenue Bridge reconstruction will include the traffic lanes, improved intersection controls, sidewalks, ornamental railings, lighting, and the pedestrian and bicycle access paths that connect Minnehaha Creek and the Parkway. Any trees, vegetation or signage disturbed during construction will be replaced.

Funding is provided by property taxes, state and federal aid, county road bonds, the Local Bridge Replacement Program, the Hennepin County Roadside Enhancement Partnership Program, and City of Minneapolis.

– 30 –

Look for more news on the Hennepin County website – www.hennepin.us.

Lyndale Bridge Set For Closure Tuesday, January 17

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Hennepin County announced this week the bridge over Minnehaha Creek on Lyndale Avenue South will close January 17 due to the abnormally warm winter and the complexities of the project. The closure was originally slated for sometime in February. The bridge will remain closed until its replacement is completed in October of this year. In addition to the bridge, Lyndale Avenue will also be reconstructed south of the bridge, with a start date of spring 2012.  While the bridge will be closed, Lyndale Avenue will maintain traffic during its reconstruction allowing access to businesses and residences.

The bridge closure eliminates easy access by southbound traffic to businesses in the Lyndale & 54th St business area. Hennepin County will use detours to direct traffic back to the area.  Southbound traffic will be detoured west on 50th St to Penn Ave or east on Nicollet to 54th St W. This area includes many local and small businesses, including retail shops, restaurants, and service businesses.

The Nicollet-East Harriet Business Association (NEHBA) represents businesses in Southwest Minneapolis. Since 2010, NEHBA has been working with the County and businesses to mitigate the impacts of this construction, especially the disruption of southbound traffic due to the bridge closure.

As the organization representing the businesses in this area, NEHBA has an action plan for the construction period. NEHBA has secured funding through the City to assist residents, customers and businesses with ongoing communication and marketing support. NEHBA will be working closely with its partners at the County, City and the four neighborhood organizations that represent the area affected by the project. Area businesses will remain open and are looking forward to continuing to provide products and services their customers have come to expect.

For up to date information on the construction, follow “Experience Southwest” on Twitter (www.twitter.com/experienceSW) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/experiencesouthwest).

Please see the NEHBA website for more information at www.nehba.org.

We will be sending out further information tomorrow, including a proposed date to meet with county and city officials.

The following email was sent out today by County Commissioner Dorfman’s office.

Lyndale Avenue Residents and Businesses:

By now, many of you have seen the signs that went up on Lyndale Avenue indicating that the bridge would be closed to traffic beginning next week, January 17th. This start of construction on the replacement bridge is earlier than we had originally planned and I’m sure caught many people by surprise. In a news release about prep work sent out last fall, we indicated that bridge closure would occur in February 2012. However, the project received the final permit necessary from the State Historic Preservation Office and that, coupled with the mild winter we’ve been having, allows us to get a jump start on the work. This is important because environmental permitting requires the contractor to cease work in the Minnehaha creek bed after March 15th, due to concerns about impacts on protected species. The early start helps to ensure that we get that work completed and can continue to move the bridge project forward this year. If, for some reason, the work could not be completed by the March deadline, it’s possible that the project would not be finished this construction season. At the request of the Nicollet East Harriet Business Association, I asked our transportation staff to see if they could delay the bridge closure by a week or so to allow more time for notice, but that raised other issues and furthered concerns that this first phase of work would not be completed by the March deadline.

I understand that business owners in particular are concerned about how this construction will impact their businesses. Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis are working with the Business Association to provide resources to local businesses along Lyndale Avenue for use during construction.

Staff are in the process of setting up a meeting with business owners to discuss their needs. There will also be regularly scheduled meetings throughout the construction period so that residents and businesses can get project updates, raise issues and have questions answered by project staff. I will let you know the dates and times for those regular construction meetings. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns that you may have.

Thanks for your work and your commitment to a new Lyndale Avenue.

Gail Dorfman
Hennepin County Commissioner 612-348-7883

Lyndale Bridge Work Begins

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Lyndale Bridge project

November 3, 2011 – Contractors began removing trees and other heavy vegetation located adjacent to the Lyndale Avenue Bridge over Minnehaha Creek on Monday, Nov. 7. The clearing is taking place so the existing bridge can be photographed for historic preservation purposes.

Temporary lane closures will be required during the clearing operations, so residents should plan ahead if they will be moving through the area. The removal crew will be using chain saws to cut the trees down. The trees will then be loaded onto trucks and hauled away from the site.

No other work on the Lyndale Avenue Bridge will be completed this year. The bridge will close to traffic in February 2012, and is scheduled to reopen by the end of 2012. In spring 2012, crews will remove the current bridge structure and begin constructing the new bridge, and an archaeologist will watch the excavation operations on the north side of Minnehaha Creek, looking for any signs of a mill that was formerly located in the area.

The bridge will be reconstructed including the traffic lanes, improved intersection controls, sidewalks, ornamental railings, and lighting. Pedestrian and bicycle access paths between the bridge and Minnehaha Parkway, Minnehaha Creek embankment stabilization and re-establishment of vegetation that will be impacted during construction are all part of the project. More details will be available closer to the start of construction next year.

The Board of Commissioners approved the estimated $9 million reconstruction of Lyndale Avenue South (County State Aid Highway 22) from 56th Street east to Minnehaha Parkway, including reconstructing the bridge over Minnehaha Creek, in August 2010.

Lyndale Avenue South will be reconstructed with a planted center median, two travel lanes, and two parking lanes, new sidewalks and streetscaping. Sanitary sewer and watermain will be replaced or updated as necessary.

Roadway construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2012. The construction will take place in phases, and access to businesses will be maintained throughout the project. The majority of construction will take place in 2012, with final streetscaping and other related finishing touches taking place in 2013. A signed detour will be posted for residents coming from the north while the bridge is under construction. More information will be made available closer to the start of the project.

Funding is provided by property taxes, state and federal aid, county road bonds, the Local Bridge Replacement Program, Roadside Enhancement Partnership Program, and City of Minneapolis.

From Hennepin County website.