Lyndale Ave Bridge to Reopen Monday

Could years of construction noise, dust, and inconvinience be finally at an end for Kenny, Windom, Tangletown and Lynnhurst residents around the 54th and Lyndale intersection? The Lyndale Avenue Bridge is set to open to traffic on-schedule, following a ribbon-cutting at 1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 15.

“In 1997, residents from the 10 neighborhoods along this corridor developed a vision for a 21st century Lyndale Avenue that connected the neighborhoods, was safe for pedestrians and vehicles, and restored the grandeur of the avenue. Completion of this project is the realization of their vision,” said Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman in a written statement emailed to reporters on Tuesday. “Lyndale Avenue is now not just a transportation corridor, but a destination.”

Dorfman's rhetoric appears to be coming true already. Blooma Yoga, a pre- and postnatal yoga studio, is relocating from Edina to a portion of the former Hollywood Video space at the corner of 53rd Street and Lyndale Avenue South. St. Paul frozen yogurt shop Freestyle Yogurt is set to open a new location in a different portion of the old Boulevard Theater building in March of 2013. Owners of both businesses told Patch that they picked the locations partly because of the enhancements included in the Lyndale reconstruction project.

Enhancements include:

• Reducing the roadway from a total of four lanes to one in each direction, plus turn lanes.
• Adding center medians with trees and ornamental grasses.
• Widening the sidewalks from 14 feet to 17 feet and striping the crosswalks.
• Placing pedestrian-level lighting along the corridor.

Some work—described by Dorfman's statement as "minimal"—will continue through November, but the road and bridge will remain open at all times.

The bridge's reopening will be celebrated on Oct. 20 with a block party organized by the Nicollet-East Harriet Business Association, who worked with the county to help businesses weather the construction-caused disruption.

Metro Transit bus service will resume on the southern end of Lyndale Avenue Tuesday morning.