Pennsylvania Avenue Reconstruction
Ramsey County is developing preliminary design concepts for the reconstruction of Pennsylvania Avenue between Rice Street and Mississippi Street.
The Pennsylvania Avenue Reconstruction project aims to study existing conditions, engage the community, develop a future vision, and identify a preferred design layout for the corridor.
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Goals
- Balance freight, vehicular and multimodal traffic needs by prioritizing safety, accessibility and convenience.
- Ensure transportation improvements benefit all segments of the population.
- Coordinate with local jurisdictions and agencies regarding ongoing, programmed and future projects.
- Identify a preferred design layout to move into Final Design for reconstruction in 2029.
Timeline
Winter/Summer 2025
- Begin community engagement and encourage public input
- Analyze existing traffic conditions
- Begin preliminary concept development
Fall 2025/Winter 2026
- Alternative analysis and evaluation
- Present alternative designs to community for input
- Select preferred alternative
Summer 2026
- Finalize preferred alternative
2029
- Planned construction
Community engagement
Ramsey County is happy to introduce the chosen design concept for Pennsylvania Avenue. Some of the main factors that made this concept appealing were its emphasis on safety, transit reliability, and overall corridor function.
- Safety: This concept provides the greatest overall safety benefits for people walking, biking, driving, and using transit. It maintains a grade-separated crossing at Jackson Street, reducing conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians, and includes roundabouts, which help slow vehicle speeds and reduce severe crashes.
- Transit: This concept supports the future METRO Bronze Line Bus Rapid Transit while avoiding tradeoffs identified with the dedicated transitway option, which did not accommodate sidewalk connectivity on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue.
- Overall Corridor Function: While all concepts offered some benefits, this option provided the best overall balance of multimodal safety, transit operations, traffic flow, and long-term feasibility. It also performed similarly in cost to the other leading alternatives while providing greater overall benefits.
For a more detailed breakdown of how this design concept was selected, please watch the Open House presentation video below.
Past engagement
- Open House (Thursday, March 12, 2026)
- Open House: Mt. Airy Community Center (Tuesday, September 23, 2025).
- Open House: Mt. Airy Community Center (Thursday, February 27, 2025).
- Pop-up: HmongTown Marketplace (Saturday, February 22, 2025)
Project Area
Resources
- Pennsylvania Avenue Reconstruction Fact Sheet
- Jackson Street Reconstruction
- All-Abilities 2050 Transportation Plan
- Public Works ADA Transition Plan
- Metro Transit Purple Line BRT
Contact Us
Alan Maxwell, Project Manager
[email protected]
651-266-7157