Hwy 280

2028 proposed design

Broadway St. left turn closure and improvements to Hennepin Ave. and Industrial Blvd.

MnDOT and motorists have identified a clear safety concern at the Hwy 280 and Broadway St. Northeast intersection. To address this issue, we propose a full closure of the left turn lane from northbound Hwy 280 to westbound Broadway St. in 2028. Right turns to/from southbound Hwy 280 at the intersection will remain open.

Need for this closure

Crashes at the intersection of Broadway St. and northbound Hwy 280 have exceeded 1.66 times the “critical” crash rate that signifies a statistically significant crash problem (2015-2019 data). This is a high-speed location with characteristics that create frequent close calls that have resulted in injury crashes and risk severe consequences when crashes do occur. Closing the left turn removes a potential high-speed conflict point and reduces the likelihood of a serious or fatal crash, moving us toward Minnesota’s Toward Zero Deaths goal.

New traffic patterns

Our analysis shows that most of the traffic that uses the left turn at Broadway St. today will exit at Larpenteur Ave. and follow Hennepin Ave. and Industrial Blvd. Using these roads, which are truck-designated and non-residential routes, will add about 30 seconds to a typical trip. In some cases, especially if drivers miss the green signal for the left turn at Broadway St., this route can be faster than to turn left at the signal on northbound Hwy 280 and better equipped to handle the current traffic capacity. We will be making additional improvements to keep additional traffic moving safely and efficiently on Hennepin Ave. and Industrial Blvd.

Other traffic is expected to follow alternate routes via I-35W, according to the analysis. Traffic modeling shows a net decrease in overall traffic delays at intersections in the Mid-City Industrial neighborhood with the closure of the Broadway St. left turn at Hwy 280.

Overall, the analysis shows that closing the left turn at Broadway St. redistributes traffic to nearby routes designed to handle higher volumes, such as Industrial Blvd. and Larpenteur Ave. Residential streets will not see additional traffic, and nearby routes like Como Ave. and Kasota Ave. are expected to experience little or no change.

Preliminary layout

The work on Hennepin Ave. and Industrial Blvd. will include:

• Rebuilding Hennepin Ave. from just west of Industrial Blvd. to 33rd Ave., including intersections
• Wider turn lane from Hennepin Ave. to Industrial Blvd. to accommodate truck traffic
• Reduce eastbound Hennepin Ave. to one lane to accommodate bike and pedestrian path on both sides of Hennepin Ave.
• Keep two lanes of traffic westbound on Hennepin Ave. to accommodate forecasted traffic
• Widened path across the railroad crossing for safer bicycle crossing
• Construct a portion of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s (MPRB) Grand Rounds Missing Link through the intersection of Hennepin Ave. and Industrial Blvd.
• Replace aged traffic signal at Hennepin Ave. and Industrial Blvd.
• Add lighting along Hennepin Ave.

In addition to the work on Hennepin Ave., we will be making improvements to Larpenteur Ave. While the lane configuration will remain the same, the improvements will include:

• Sidewalk repairs
• Painted bike path through interchange
• Crosswalk at east ramp​

We have been closely coordinating improvements with the MPRB; the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Lauderdale, Roseville; and Ramsey and Hennepin counties.

More community outreach is planned starting summer 2026. Sign up for email updates to receive information on upcoming outreach events.

Please contact the project team if you have questions or would like to discuss these improvements.