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Frequently Asked Questions:
Hiawatha Corridor Transportation Project

The Hiawatha Corridor Project is one of the metro area's most broadly supported and thoroughly planned transportation improvement projects in recent memory. Below are factual answers to the most common questions regarding the Hiawatha Corridor project.

Q: What is the Hiawatha Corridor Project?
A: The project involves reconstruction of Hiawatha Ave./Hwy. 55 between
I-94 and Hwy. 62/Crosstown to a four-lane divided boulevard design, and construction of the Twin City metro area's first Light Rail Transit (LRT) line from downtown Minneapolis to the airport and Mall of America in Bloomington. Minneapolis Park Board plans to improve Minnehaha Park are scheduled to coincide with the Hiawatha Corridor project.

Q: Will there be bike trails?
A: new commuter bike/pedestrian trail will run along Hiawatha Ave. from downtown Minneapolis to Fort Snelling.
"This process is citizen participation at its finest. All in all, this is an exceptionally well thought out, carefully considered plan. It has been a successful process."-Dennis Shulstad, Minneapolis City Council (former member)

Q: Why is the project needed?
A: State and local officials, along with citizens, have long been aware that Hiawatha Ave. needs to be upgraded to handle the volume of traffic using the roadway. The current roadway is extremely narrow for four lanes of traffic Reconstruction of the roadway and intersections will improve safety and reduce the high accident rate. Pedestrian and bicyclist safety will be enhanced by separating their routes from major traffic on Hiawatha Ave.

Q: What will the project cost?
A: The estimated cost of reconstruction is $100 million. The current estimate for the cost of the LRT line is approximately $400 million for the Hiawatha Corridor segment and $44 million for additional segments in downtown Minneapolis and Bloomington.

Q: What is the project schedule?
A: Work began in 1988 on reconstructing Hiawatha Avenue. The first segment between 32nd St. and 46th St. was
completed in 1990. The final segment from 46th St. to Hwy. 62/Crosstown is scheduled to begin in 1999 and be
completed 2002. The addition of LRT in the corridor is in initial planning, but is expected to be under construction by 200l and completed by 2003.

Q: It has been said that the project has broad support. Who supports this project?
A: The project has received support from neighborhood groups to the U.S. Congress. Specific supporters include: city of Minneapolis; Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board; Hennepin County; Metropolitan Council; Minnesota Legislature; Mn/DOT; local, state and federal elected officials; and the Hiawatha Avenue Citizen Task Force. The U.S. Congress has approved federal funding for roadway construction and LRT planning. Federal funding for LRT construction is expected.

Q: How was the reroute of Hiawatha Avenue studied?
A: The decision to reconstruct Hiawatha Ave. as a four-lane divided boulevard was made after more than 30 years of planning and public involvement. The original plan called for a freeway design, but those plans were changed in the late 1960s. A citizen task force, which included representatives of the local community councils, businesses and neighbors, considered more than 120 alternatives, reviewed all analysis contained in the project's federally-mandated Environmental Impact Statement and held more than 40 public meetings before the new route was approved.

We had more than 40 meetings and we had neighborhood meetings. We did not bypass any agency to get what we came up with. Members on the committee put in some long hours. People would go back to their neighborhood groups and report on it. Our neighborhood newspapers did a very good job of keeping people informed and our City Council did a very good job of keeping people informed of what was going on. -Kathy Mackdanz, Chair, Citizen Task Force

The task force concluded that expanding Hiawatha Avenue along its present route would destroy residences, businesses, historic buildings and critical parts of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital facility. The task force further concluded that the selected reroute, including the improvements requested by the Park Board, would have the lowest social and environmental impact and would not divide the neighborhood as does the current route.

Q: Why not reconstruct Hiawatha Ave. and build LRT in the existing roadway corridor?
A: Construction of LRT in the Hiawatha Corridor is dependent on the rerouting of Hiawatha Ave. There is not enough room in the existing roadway corridor to accommodate both the necessary road improvements and the proposed LRT line. To fit the road improvements and LRT in the existing corridor would require the removal of up to 70 homes and seven businesses. Under the current plan, approximately 18 homes and one business (at the owner's request) will be removed.

Q: Protesters claim that the selected reroute will destroy sacred Native American lands and burial sites. Have these claims been examined?
A: The historical, archaeological and Native American issues have been thoroughly and respectfully examined and addressed as part of the project's federally mandated environmental review process. Recent claims made by protesters regarding sacred lands, sacred trees and possible burial sites have been found to be without foundation. Note the following correspondence:

After a thorough review by the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, which is made up of the tribal chairs of the State's eleven federally recognized tribes and is responsible for determining the cultural significance of such sites, it was determined that no substantial evidence exists that the proposed Highway 55 rerouting would directly impact any such site...(T)o attempt to exploit a piece of land for the purpose of simply stopping the rerouting of a highway, is not only wrong, in the long run it hurts our efforts to protect sites that are truly sacred and culturally significant. -Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, letter to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, October 5, 1998.

Q: The protesters claim that the reroute will destroy a sacred site and natural spring known as Camp Coldwater. Is this true?
A: The Camp Coldwater site is on federal property, known as the Bureau of Mines property, approximately 440 feet east of the new location for Hiawatha Avenue. When completed, the new roadway will not impact the Camp Coldwater site. Construction is not expected to impact the flow of underground water to the Camp Coldwater spring. Plans to protect the spring during construction have been reviewed and approved by the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council.

After reviewing the information in regards to the possible Traditional Cultural Property that may be in the area of the (Hiawatha Avenue) project. It has been determined that the area of concern is located outside the project area. However, there is concern that during construction for this project there might be indirect impacts to ground water that provides flow to Coldwater Springs....I have discussed the plans that are involved with this site with both Chairmen Ross and Gary Cavender. Both agreed that as long as the spring continued to flow, there was not an issue...After consulting with your office about the project, you stated that if the project would impact the spring, Mn/DOT would be able to restore the flow of the spring. In reviewing the information with Mr. Ross and Mr. Cavender both agreed this would be acceptable. -Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, August 4, 1998.

Q: The protesters also claim the new road will destroy four sacred Burr oak trees that were planted by Native Americans nearly 200 years ago to serve as burial scaffolds and a religious site. Is this true?
A: At the request of the protesters, experts from the University of Minnesota examined and aged three Burr oak trees found near the four Burr oaks claimed to be sacred. The trees were similar to-or larger in size than the purported sacred trees. (Protesters would not allow the claimed sacred trees to be examined.) The trees were found to be approximately 125-130 years old. These results match earlier studies on burr oaks in the area. This data strongly suggests that the burr oak trees in the area, including the burr oaks claimed to be sacred, are far too young to have been planted and used for the purposes claimed by the protesters.

Q: How many oak or other trees will be removed for the new road?
A: There are approximately 267 "notable" trees in the area of construction for Hiawatha Avenue; 130 will be protected during construction, while 137 must be removed. (Notable trees are based on the importance of the species, visual quality, public acceptance and potential use of the wood product.) Of the 130 protected trees, 121 are burr oaks. Of the 137 trees to be removed, 102 are burr oaks. Landscaping in the corridor will replace all the notable trees removed.

Q: What impacts will the project have on Minnehaha Park?
A: Mn/DOT has acquired 6.9 acres of Minneapolis park property for the project, but will return 9.2 acres of land to the park resulting in a net gain of 2.3 acres of city park property. A "Memorandum of Agreement" between the Park Board and Mn/DOT addresses the impacts of Hiawatha Ave. on the park. Work on the park adjacent to Hiawatha Avenue will take place at about the same time that Mn/DOT is scheduled to construct the new roadway.

Q: How are the road rerouting and the Hiawatha LRT line linked?
A: Construction of the Twin City metro area's first LRT line is an integral part of the Hiawatha Corridor project. The LRT line will be located largely in the
existing Hiawatha Ave. right of way. The project's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) included construction of LRT all along, even though state and federal funding was just recently secured.

Q: Does the protest against the rerouting of Hiawatha Ave. threaten the LRT line?
A: The protest against the Hiawatha Ave. reroute plan and illegal occupation of state property is a significant threat to the future of the LRT line. If the protesters are successful in stopping the reroute project, the LRT line cannot be built. And even if the protesters only delay the road project, the federal government will likely pass over the Hiawatha LRT line and fund other LRT projects around the country instead. "...any change now in the roadway's location will jeopardize federal funding for the Hiawatha (LRT) Line, the most significant Twin Cities transportation project in half a century. Light rail holds enormous potential for transforming the southeastern neighborhoods of Minneapolis for the benefits of all ethnic and income groups. The protesters insist they are not against light rail. But their continued occupation lessens its chances."-Star Tribune, November, 1, 1998.