Major road and park changes could alter routes

Road, trail and park changes moving through Alexandria could reshape commutes and weekend routines well beyond this summer. (douglascountymn.gov) Douglas County commissioners and the Alexandria City Council met together on April 21 and reviewed four construction efforts, led by a Highway 29 plan stretching from downtown at Eighth Avenue south to 50th Avenue. County officials said final details on that corridor must be settled by June 22. (douglascountymn.gov) The biggest piece is the 2028 Broadway, or Trunk Highway 29, reconstruction from Eighth Avenue to 18th Avenue, plus resurfacing from 18th Avenue to Interstate 94. The city says construction is scheduled to start in May 2028 and could continue through October 2029, with block closures and a through-traffic detour on Highway 29. (alexandriamn.city) That project goes beyond pavement. Plans call for replacing storm sewer, watermain and sanitary sewer lines, adding accessibility upgrades at sidewalks and crossings, building new signals at 13th Avenue and 18th Avenue, and creating a three-quarter access at 17th Avenue. (alexandriamn.city) The immediate dispute is access. Douglas County’s April 21 summary says Commissioners Jerry Rapp and Tim Kalina raised concerns that a proposed median on Highway 29 would block southbound left turns into some businesses, while city officials said they are still talking with affected businesses and the state. (douglascountymn.gov) Highway 29 has already been changing in stages. The Minnesota Department of Transportation finished a 2025 safety project on Third Avenue between Broadway and Nokomis Street, where it removed some left-turn lanes, upgraded sidewalks and improved pedestrian crossings on a corridor carrying about 18,200 vehicles a day, including roughly 1,050 heavy trucks. (dot.state.mn.us) Farther out, Minnesota Department of Transportation and city planning for the 2028 Highway 29 rebuild is tied to a longer corridor study that examined segments from Nokomis Street to McKay Avenue and beyond. The state project page says the goal is to address pavement problems, pedestrian accessibility requirements and signal work. (dot.state.mn.us; dot.state.mn.us) County Engineer Tim Erickson also told the joint meeting that a shared-use path on County State Aid Highway 46 between County State Aid Highway 82 and Highway 29 is slated for construction this summer. He said bids will open in May and work is expected in the fall, with the path running past Discovery School. (douglascountymn.gov) Erickson said the county is also trying to finish plans by the end of May for a Highway 29 bridge upgrade between lakes Geneva and Le Homme Dieu. If design work slips, he said, construction could move to 2027 instead. (douglascountymn.gov) The park piece reaches the same daily-life questions from a different angle. Big Ole Central Park hosts Alexandria’s farmers market at Broadway and Second Avenue, and city materials list market days from mid-May into October, making drainage, footing and dog-control rules especially visible as the outdoor season starts. (minnesotagrown.com; explorealex.com) The next public checkpoint is already on the calendar. Alexandria’s city site lists a regular City Council meeting for April 27, as officials move from broad discussion toward decisions that will determine how drivers, walkers, cyclists and park users move through the city over the next several years. (alexandriamn.city)