Franklin Avenue reconstruction

County Road 5 in South Minneapolis

Hennepin County, in coordination with the City of Minneapolis, is preparing to reconstruct Franklin Avenue (County Road 5) between Lyndale (County Road 22) and Chicago avenues to improve safety, accessibility and comfort for all road users.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025, dates subject to change.

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Approved project layout

Preparing for construction in 2025

Ahead of the anticipated start of construction next year, the project team has prepared a website that details the future layout of Franklin Avenue. The team is also engaging with community members to provide information on what to expect – including changes to access and temporary traffic impacts like road closures due to construction.

Visit our Franklin Avenue layout details page

View the project layout

Over a two year engagement process, you shared what you would like to see on Franklin Avenue. With the help of your feedback, the project team developed a preliminary project layout which was approved by the Minneapolis City Council on April 11.

The project design includes the following changes to the corridor:

Three-lane design with center turn lanes and medians at key locations
Removal of parking
Sidewalks and bike lanes, or shared used paths
Boulevards with green space s and trees

Public engagement

Ongoing engagement

Later this spring, we will share additional information and opportunities to engage on design details. The project team will be refining the recommended design this year based on your feedback and our additional analysis.

As we get closer to anticipated construction in 2025, we will post the final designs and begin sharing information about what to expect— including any major traffic impacts like road closures.

Previous outreach

Preferred design engagement

Read about the engagement work that took place between June and December of 2023.

Phase 3 engagement summary (PDF)

The project team hosted an open house on November 1 at Hope Community Inc.

View the open house presentation boards

View the open house one pager.

Design phase 2 engagement

Read about the engagement work that took place between January and May of 2023.

View the 2023 project one pager.

Design phase 1 engagement

View the 2022 open house presentation boards (PDF)

View the 2022 open house project one-pager.

Planning engagement

View the 2019-2020 open house materials (PDF)

Project goals

In its current form, this segment of Franklin Avenue includes a four-lane, undivided roadway (meaning there is no median in most areas) with off-peak parking at certain locations and no facilities for people biking. There are opportunities to improve transportation for all users of Franklin Avenue:

Provide designated space for different travel modes.
Provide safer pedestrian crossings at intersections
Allow for better community connections along the corridor
Support local businesses and institutions with improved access
Enhance the visual character with lighting, trees, green space and furnishings
Minimize traffic delay for people using transit and driving

View the Franklin Avenue corridor study one-pager (2019) (PDF)

View the one-pager on potential changes to Franklin Avenue (2022) (PDF)

Project leadership

Hennepin County

Nathan Ellingson
nathan.ellingson@hennepin.us
612-596-0375

City of Minneapolis

Allison Bell, PE
allison.bell@minneapolismn.gov
612-427-8313

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