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Southwest Light Rail construction leads to trail closures

Portions of the Cedar Lake Trail and Kenilworth Trail closed May 13 and will remain closed for two to three years.

MINNEAPOLIS — Two popular trails closed Monday for Southwest Light Rail construction. The Cedar Lake Trail from Excelsior Boulevard in Hopkins east to France Avenue in St. Louis Park will be closed through fall 2021. The Kenilworth Trail in Minneapolis is closed from West 21st Street to the Midtown Greenway until summer 2022.

"We understand that this is a frustration and we never said construction was going to be an easy process but we want to make it as painless as possible," said Trevor Roy, spokesperson for the Southwest Light Rail project.

There are detours for the trail closures, including North Cedar Lake Trail and Minnetonka Boulevard, which has a bike lane.

"We know that these are popular throughout routes and for people who are going to be using their bikes to get to work and get back home, it's really important that they have good easy access to do that," said Colin Cox, communications for Hennepin County Transportation.

Credit: KARE
Trail closures due to light rail construction

Monday, crews were putting new coats of paint on the bike lanes.

"For the people who are driving, it's being aware that you're going to see more people biking up and down the roads here and being prepared for that and knowing how to interact with those people, as well," Cox said.

Bicyclist Brynn Skinner of Minneapolis said, "I didn't mind riding on Minnetonka Boulevard because it had a nice bike lane. Although I imagine people with kids, who are trying to go on a ride, might have trouble with that because kids like squiggle all over the place on their bikes and that might be scary for parents."

Some bicyclists described the detours as very "stop and go" which can be hard for those who are training.

"You have to do tons of little curves, and there are more pedestrians, and you're on crossing roads a lot more often and so that's not really that nice," explained Scott Skinner of Minneapolis.

Nicolette Reker of Minneapolis said some of the signage could be clearer, adding, "After Minnetonka Boulevard we lost the detour signs. They kind of went away and it was like, which way do we go?" Reker said there was one spot where the detour signs were specific to walkers and bikers but it was confusing knowing which one to follow.

"We're going to take a different route home if we can," she said.

When it's complete, the new light rail will connect downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie. It's a $2 billion project, expected to open in 2023.

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