Stormwater project will narrow Central Avenue at Columbia Parkway this month

Southbound traffic on Central Avenue NE will be reduced to a single lane immediately north and south of Columbia Parkway through late October.

Pedestrian traffic will be rerouted to the east side of Central Avenue between 35th and 37th Avenues. Bicycle traffic will be rerouted two blocks to the east, to Polk Street NE, between 35th and 37th Avenues. Signs will be posted indicating detour routes .

The lane closure and detours are allowing for construction of a stormwater pretreatment unit just south of the railroad crossing, similar to the unit installed in fall 2020 at 35th Avenue NE and NE Tyler Street.

Project partners are working to construct storm sewer improvements and a series of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) at Columbia Golf Course and Columbia Park. These BMPs will treat polluted runoff from a previously untreated 612-acre drainage area.

In addition to keeping pollutants out of the nearby Mississippi River, the project will reduce flooding in neighborhoods within the drainage area and on the golf course itself; improve habitat; and enhance golf play and other recreational opportunities.

—City of Minneapolis