All right, I think we'll get rolling here. I'll start with introductions. So, my name is Kyle Wallace. I'm the I'll be the project manager for the East 26th Street and Hiawatha intersection improvements project. I'm also joined by Stephanie Malmberg, who is our principal
engineer. And also Iskandar Umar will be our chief field inspector. And we also are joined by Spencer Everett, who is our engineer who is involved on the front-end planning of the project.
Today we'll go through the project description, a project overview, some current activities that we've had going on, what's going to happen, what to expect during construction, and just some information on project communications.
Start with the project description. So, we do have a map here. And the city will rebuild the intersection of East 26th Street and Hiawatha Avenue. This is the portions on the east and west side of the intersection. And the project's also going to include improving a part of
East 26th Street between Hiawatha Avenue and Cedar Avenue. The segment from Cedar Avenue south and Hiawatha will include a new shared use path that connects Cedar Avenue to the Hiawatha LRT Trail. And we'll also have some work on Longfellow on the southwest
and southeast corner of the intersection for some ped work. The intersection improvements at East 26th Street and Hiawatha will include new pedestrian refuge medians to help people cross the street safely, some new signals, ADA and lighting improvements. And we'll also be
constructing a new concrete median barrier extending on the north side of the intersection almost up to where the bridge crosses Hiawatha just a little bit to the north there. Little bit information on project
overview and the background. So in 2022, we began public engagement. 2023 we had preliminary design and layout approval. And 24 and 25, that's when we started our detailed design and engineering. That brings us up to May where we are now starting construction which is
anticipated to start next Tuesday, May 26th, the day after Memorial Day. I'm going to pass it over to Spencer Everett who's going to give a little bit information on some of the proposed changes to the roadway, the bike lanes, and the sidewalk. And I'll take it over. Pass it to you,
Spencer. >> Uh yeah, thanks, Kyle. Uh good evening, everybody. Um thanks for being here. Um yeah, so this project was really instigated um by um the city observing uh through data and through um
kind of resident feedback that uh this intersection was kind of uniquely um challenged in terms of of traffic safety. Uh there's been a kind of a long record of of of a concern trend in terms of um uh crash history um of folks uh at
this intersection and specifically traveling along Hiawatha Avenue. So the the city applied for federal funds um a number of years ago and received them uh in order to do uh work at this intersection. So uh just for some context, um there have been six
fatalities uh associated with crashes at this intersection uh since 2020 uh and at least that number of kind of life-changing injuries as well. So uh a real challenging for an area that that that the city was
really looking to make um traffic safety investments in. So um yeah, that's that's kind of the impetus for the project. Um and so uh it was a little bit um of an interesting project being that the the city of Minneapolis
uh was laying and and uh, the project um, in this area uh, but it's important to to acknowledge um, that we had to to work within um, the state of Minnesota's Department of Transportation's kind of uh, toolbox uh, if you will um, since
Hiawatha Avenue is Minnesota Trunk Highway 55. So that's it's under state jurisdiction. So we we needed to to follow their kind of design constraints um, and and standards there um, so as you'll see on the screen um, we are making geometric changes to the intersection at 26th and Hiawatha.
Uh, we are removing um, the what we would call a pork chop island uh, in the north west and southeast quadrants um, to eliminate kind of the free right turn um, which does happen to uh, have kind of a serious um,
uh, it's we did kind of safety challenges. Um, there was uh, two pedestrians that were hit and killed um, crossing from the from the sidewalk to the to the pork chop islands. Um, so we're we're looking to make that geometric change um, [clears throat] as well as making
some some other changes like adding pedestrian refuge medians um, and and making the uh, kind of walking and biking experience across the intersection a little bit uh, a safer via the medians and and just through uh, tighter radii. Um, so those are the the improvements at
the intersection specifically um, I'll note that all all of the lanes along Hiawatha Avenue uh, that exist today will remain into the future uh, but some changes were made um, on the side street at 26th. Um, additionally it was identified um,
for a shared use path um, connection that will be created between Hiawatha Avenue and the uh, and Cedar Avenue with their upcoming reconstruction project um, along Cedar from 24th to Lake. So um, yeah, we're going to kind of connect the
multi-modal networks uh, and improve safety for everyone. Um, so yeah, that's the >> is Yeah, yeah, go ahead, Spencer. >> All right. Uh, yeah, so, like I was mentioning, um, kind of a the more linear segment along 26th Street between Cedar and Hiawatha is going to be changed, um, from its
current configuration that you can see on the screen here with with an in-street, um, painted Westbound bike lane, uh, and then three motor vehicle lanes. Um, if you can flip to the next screen there, Kyle. Um, so, the three motor vehicle lanes will continue to exist, uh, but we're, uh, eliminating
the existing paint in-street painted bike lane, um, extending the curb on the north side of the street, uh, and creating a wider shared use path for both, uh, folks walking and using, um, kind of micro mobility devices, uh, and then there'll be space for a a wider
uh, boulevard that it will be capable, uh, of supporting trees. So, um, uh, or trees and lighting. So, um, we're looking to make that change as well to connect it into con- to connect the Hiawatha LRT Trail to the, uh, soon-to-exist Cedar Avenue, um,
trails. >> All right, perfect. Uh, just a little bit information on some of the pre-construction activities we've had going on so far, and then some other project coordination upcoming. Uh, so, CenterPoint Energy, uh, did some work last fall where there's a gas main
relocation, uh, in the street. Now, it's under the north sidewalk. Uh, we did have an existing cell pole relocated last fall that was on the, uh, southeast corner of Longfellow. It got moved just to, uh, a little bit to the east. You can sort of see it in the picture on the right here just adjacent to the,
uh, hydrant. And, uh, there was a Verizon small cell tower removed, uh, from kind of the northeast corner of Cedar and 26th Street that would have been conflicting with our, uh, new shared use trail. And, we will be coordinating with, uh, Metro Transit as State of Good Repair, uh, Blue Line
project work that's going to be starting on June 29th through August 12th. That's going to entitle closing the east half of the intersection of Hiawatha and 26th Street for them to get their work done, and we also have some work over there that
we'll be coordinating with them. There is actually two lead service line replacement left on East 26th Street that we are coordinating with them. They're probably looking at The product's going to start next Tuesday and expecting the lead service
separate project, but coordinating with them to come in later next week to get the work done for that. And as Spencer mentioned, we're going to be coordinating with the Hennepin Hennepin County Cedar Avenue South Reconstruction project, which I believe now is Originally, it was supposed to be starting in August, but it's pushed
back. Sounds like it may be starting in September of this year. What to expect during construction? So, as I mentioned, our expected start date is next Tuesday, right after Memorial Day. The 26th, the will of contractor will be mobilizing with some large construction
equipment to start removals. Sounds like they're going to start at kind of Cedar Avenue on the west side there and work their way to the east towards Hiawatha removing the pavement section on the north side and the curb the curb as well. There will be some disruption, noise,
dust, traffic impacts. The west side of Hiawatha and 26th Street will be closed. Um, I will share some information on the detours here on the next slide. We do have one driveway on the north side of
East 26th Street closer to Cedar. We will maintain that most of the time except when we have to work in front of that to do some removals or pour new concrete. There may be some time where we'll work with the homeowner to figure out some alternatives, but there
will be some cure time for that concrete before they can get back in their driveway. So, substantial completion for this project right now is October 12th of this year. This map's a little bit busy, but this one first what I'm going to share here
is our pedestrian and bike detour. So, with the west side of uh Hiawatha and East 26th Street closed, the detour is the Hiawatha LRT trail kind of swooping around again to that bike bridge, ped bridge that cuts across
Hiawatha. It'll take people over to East 24th Street and then back down 27th Avenue South. Is the detour for peds and bikes. And our vehicle detour is actually going to be so, if you're headed north, you
will exit on the Cedar Avenue ramp. And if you wanted to this is actually the west side sorry, the east side of Hiawatha 26th Street will be open until the state of good repair starts on January or sorry, on June 29th. But for uh
people coming up Hiawatha wanting to head west, you exit on Cedar and make your way over to 24th Street and then back down Bloomington Avenue to get back to 26th Street for that detour. So, um
We do have planning um some neighborhood meetings upcoming day and time to be determined. We do have some weekly email updates if anybody wants to sign up for GovDelivery. We do have a QR code that will take you
to our project web page and there's a link to sign up for that. So, feel free to um to do that if you want. There will be this QR code is actually on our website as well. We do offer some one-on-one site visits if you're having any issues or have any
questions, uh, feel free to reach out to, uh, myself or Iskandar as the chief field inspector. He'll be our contact, uh, on the street day-to-day. Uh, the webpage does have our contact information and our phone numbers and emails on there. And the link is down below.
Uh, that's all we have here for now. So, with that being said, I will open the floor for any questions. Uh, feel free to raise your hand and we'll, uh, call you in the order they were received. Yeah, go ahead, Adam. >> Uh, Adam Reimer with Jefferson Lines. I
just want to reiterate, I know we met with you earlier this year, but I just wanted to make sure, just to confirm that all of our driveways, uh, will be not blocked at any time, correct? >> Correct. >> Okay.
Just want to make sure. >> Yeah, and I think, Adam, I think when we last met with you, I think we talked, I think originally the west side, or sorry, the east side of Hiawatha in 26 was to be closed right away. Um, there's a little bit of lag time with the temporary signal system has to go up first. So,
um, we're going to leave that open here until we, uh, get that ready. Sounds like, um, closer to the end of June. So, um, little bit of extra leeway for you guys if you need to get out on Hiawatha there from your from your driveway. So.
>> Okay, so we'll be able to use that till sometime in the middle of to the end of June some sometime. >> Correct. Yep. >> Okay. Perfect. Thank you. >> All right, we'll pass it over to Elizabeth. Welcome. >> I had to get myself off mute, sorry. Sorry. Um >> you're good. >> [clears throat]
>> So, we we live on 26th and have the driveway that comes out on Cedar. >> Sure. >> Oh, our alley comes out on to >> Yeah, sorry, our alley comes out on Cedar. >> Okay.
>> Will how when this it sounds like this project is going to overlap with the Cedar Avenue project? >> Uh correct. >> So, I'm just I'm trying to figure out
how we are going to access our alley during that time. >> And you guys have no way um so yeah, you live on 26th, but your alley goes out onto Cedar. Um our project we should have most of our
stuff done between Cedar and Hiawatha prior to them starting in September. Um I guess I could give you a contact information. Um if you want to put your name or sorry, your phone number in
[clears throat] the chat, I can give you the project manager for Hennepin County. Um I'm sure they probably are aware that, you know, there's there's cars that are coming out that alley. Um cuz yeah, what's the alternative to the alley? Is that the only way to for you guys get out on the Cedar? There's no
other way, correct? >> Correct. >> Okay. Yeah, so that sounds like a question for them. Um as far as us, we'll have our stuff probably, you know, getting pretty much wrapped up um between Cedar and Hiawatha on our end for people to you
know, get out. Um but yeah, that's a good question for them to make sure that they accommodate you guys. Um you know, not trapping you in there landlocked. So, um >> Yeah, Kyle, can I can I jump in? >> Yeah, go ahead, submit to you. >> Yeah, I was the I'm the engineering
contact for the county's project on Cedar as well. So I know a little bit but I'll definitely defer to the county and and I can reach out to them on your behalf of if you would like Elizabeth but yeah, while Cedar is under construction. They are yet to determine specific
phasing just as a contractual matter but their traffic control plan indicates that Ogema will become a two-way Street temporarily starting at 24th Street and so
Ogema and stately will be accessible via 24th Street exclusively while Cedar's under construction between 24th and 26th. >> Okay. Okay, that's really helpful to understand how that's going to work. Thank you
and I do I also just want to say I am so excited that you're getting rid of the pork chops that is as someone who uses that section on like a very like daily basis. I have had my own
close calls there and I'm really excited to see traffic slow down. >> Yeah, we are too just walking around there was some getting some photos it's very difficult and and very unsafe. So we're we're excited too. Anybody else? >> I'm Kyle.
Will we be putting this presentation on the website for anyone who may have missed? >> I believe we will Ted. You want to confirm that? >> Sorry, but I missed that. What was that? >> Uh will this meeting presentation Yeah,
sorry. Will the meeting be be I think you mentioned you're going to post it on the website, correct? Or the webpage? >> Sorry, yes. This meeting will be posted on the webpage. >> Um other things for folks, um if you do sign up for GovDelivery,
sometimes they go right to your junk. So, if you're not getting the GovDeliveries, um which are weekly updates, basically, take a look in your junk and and move it to your inbox.
>> Yeah, go ahead, Elizabeth. >> Sorry, this is uh her husband, Dustin. I'm also paying attention to the meeting. >> Yeah. >> Um so, you said the bike access to 26th is now going to be
using the bridge it's like coming off Cedar um and crossing over to 24th Street at Hiawatha. Is that correct? >> Correct. >> Um I mean, so the last I looked that bike was basic or sorry, that bikeway
was basically uh an encampment. Is there going to be any effort to make that a little easier to pass through? >> Yeah, I noticed that, too. Um And yeah, um [clears throat] Yeah, that's a good question. Um I'm not
sure who to reach out to other than I know there was some enforcement that was um I seen some people I think Iskander you mentioned you saw some uh police that were kind of pushing people along that were along the sidewalk along Hiawatha
last week, correct? >> Yeah, saw a couple squad cars um around that encampment encampment uh homeless encampment there. >> Excellent. Yeah, that's a tough one. I'm not sure if there's any other better
detour um other than yeah, to the north um >> It's >> Yeah. >> Then how do I get north? But yeah, I I recognize >> Yeah, it's tough. I know we had we had
to reach out because we had some campers that were in a construction site last week. You know what? I do have a contact. I'll probably reach out to the same person that I had to contact to have some tents removed off our corner there in the construction limits. So,
yes, I do have a contact. Um can't make any promises, but they were they were able to kind of move some people out of our construction site. So, maybe we maybe they can um um you know, get some information to them, let them know that that's our detour and
to find some other spots. So, but yeah, good point and we'll uh we'll we'll do our best on that one for sure. >> Hey Kyle, we we have someone in the comments wondering about details for what the
final project will look like. >> Um Spencer, let me see here. I'm going to back up a couple slides. It's a little tough to see. Um I know it's not really we don't really have any I don't think Spencer you guys didn't
really get any animated things or anything, did you? From your consultant >> say that we we did. Um But yeah, this graphic kind of shows the before and after condition. Um we talked about it a little bit earlier in the meeting, but I understand that some folks joined late.
Um but yeah, we're looking at some geometric changes at Hiawatha at 26th um to remove the the kind of the free rights via the pork chop islands. Uh so, we're extending the curb out as far as we can uh into the into the street to minimize pedestrian crossing distances.
Uh we're adding some pedestrian refuge medians on three of the four quadrants. Uh and then making kind of geometric changes to the north side of 26th um from Cedar to Hiawatha uh to kind of connect the new or the upcoming Cedar Avenue Trail to uh the Hiawatha LRT
Trail um in a more safe manner. >> And here is kind of just a cross-section of what it would look like here, too. Um as Benjamin Spencer mentioned, we do have that shared use path on the north side, and then um
we will have uh 11-ft westbound through lane, 11-ft eastbound through lane, and a 13-ft center turn lane um in addition with um the south side remains uh mostly unchanged aside from
uh as we mentioned earlier, there's uh uh the southwest and southeast corner of Longfellow will have the ped ramps uh upgraded, and there will be a new um um median refuge island. I think I can back it up here a little bit. I think this sort of shows a little bit here.
It's tough to see, but there's going to be new kind of a concrete refuge median just on the west side of Longfellow. There'll be a new ped ramp on the north connecting to the ADA upgrade on the southwest and on the southeast will be done. Then we'll go back probably about 15 ft, maybe three panels
worth over there. So. Hope that answers your question. Yeah. >> You got another question um from Aura uh wondering about the field. I'm presuming this is in the northwest quadrant. Um
what is going to become of that? Coffee shop, drive-thru coffee shop, something? Um and I believe is that land with middle Little Earth right now or >> Yep. So I think Spencer maybe you can have a little bit more information but I
know I think at one point in time that's that is yeah that is belongs to Little Earth. Right now there's a fence kind of blocking it off. Our plans actually call for it was calling for a salvage and a reinstall of the existing fence but the
existing fence I think somebody drove through it there a couple weeks ago so we're going to try and keep the fence up as long as we can here right now until we ultimately need to be the fence is actually it's kind of unsalvageable so we're going to remove it and then Little Earth is going to reinstall a new
fence once we're kind of done our construction in that area but Spencer I'm not sure if you have any update on the plans but I think Little Earth maybe had some plans for a development there but I'm not sure if if that's still going through but have you heard anything
updates on that Spencer? >> Yeah as far as I've heard yeah like you mentioned the the Northwest quadrant is private property owned by Little Earth United Tribes so it's totally up to them what they want to do with it but yeah they have a
building planned for that quadrant um as far as I'm aware they're the design of it is done I think they're just waiting to secure um some funding so I guess I don't have a timeline as to that um but they do have a have a building planned for that um
area. >> All right any other questions? Okay. Hearing none, um, again, uh, feel free to visit our project webpage to sign up for updates. Um, on that webpage, we will have some information about, uh, we
will be holding some weekly, uh, neighborhood, uh, stakeholder meetings to update everybody and, uh, we will be sending out some gov deliveries just to keep everybody informed as the project kind of moves along, which area they're working in and, um, and what's going to be
happening kind of during the week. So, um, if there's anything else, feel free to reach out to myself or Iskandar and we can meet you on site if there is a specific question regarding your property. Um, otherwise, look forward to,
um, successful project and, um, and try and cause least disruption as possible for everybody. So, thanks everyone for joining us. We'll give you half an hour back your day to go enjoy last little bit of sunshine and, uh, enjoy long weekend.
>> Thank you, everyone. >> Thank you, everybody. >> Thank you. >> Thanks.