Politics & Government

MnDOT to Soon Decide Fate of Crosstown Staging Areas

West Area Manager John Griffith speaks about the department's approach

Last week, Sheila Regan covered the of Crosstown construction and addressed the  for a number of lots used by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to stage the project.

I spoke with MnDOT West Area Manager John Griffith Monday about some of the issues that we didn't have space for in Regan's piece. 

Cost: Griffith couldn't estimate the value of the land. Southwest Minneapolis Patch is in the process of filing a Data Practice Act request to get this information.

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When: MnDOT will probably make decisions about the leftover parcels in early 2011. Landscaping will play a major role in how soon the property is released by the agency, and MnDOT is now looking at landscaping options. The department doesn't want to release the lots too early, in case the land is needed to complete other projects. 

What will the lots become: On Richfield's side, the agency anticipates some public use, perhaps even bike paths. In Minneapolis, Peter's Billiards already moved onto much of a large parcel. The remnant parcels would likely only be used as boulevards, which the department has little interest in. 

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