77th Street Underpass

PURPOSE

The 77th Street underpass will connect 77th Street east and west of Trunk Highway (TH) 77 (Cedar Avenue) to eliminate a gap in the minor reliever network. The project will connect Bloomington and Longfellow Avenues and address regional traffic issues on the I-494 corridor through Richfield and Bloomington.

PROJECT GRAPHICS

• Final Layout
• Washington Park Improvement

PROJECT ELEMENTS

• 4-lane divided road connecting 77th Street to the realigned Longfellow Avenue on the east side of TH 77.
• Construct new bridge on TH 77 carrying TH 77 over 77th Street.
• Reconstruct the southbound TH 77 to westbound I-494 ramp.
• Reconstruct the westbound I-494 to northbound TH 77 ramp.
• Reconstruct the west TH 77 frontage road over the new 77th Street.
• Construct a 6′ sidewalk along the south side of 77th Street.
• Construct a 10′ multi-use regional trail along the north side of 77th Street, which links to Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail and the Intercity Regional Trail.

PROJECT BENEFITS

• Provides Connections – Establishes a Regional, Multi-Modal Connection between the City of Richfield, the City of Bloomington, MSP International Airport, the Metro Transit South Garage, and the Mall of America.
• Ease Congestion – Provides additional capacity to I-494 by removing local trips from the freeway.
• Encourage Redevelopment – Promotes redevelopment along the south-eastern borders of Richfield that will provide a commercial “buffer” to protect neighborhoods from airport and highway impacts.

PROJECTED TIMELINE

• Design Engineering – 2016-2020
• Construction – Spring 2021-Fall 2022