State Bonding Bill Will Make 77th Underpass A Reality In Richfield

Press release from the City of Richfield:

October 23, 2020

For almost three decades, the City of Richfield and its regional transportation partners have worked diligently to add an underpass to the south metro’s transportation system. With the Minnesota legislature’s passage of the 2020 bonding bill, that journey is coming to a positive conclusion.

To improve the I-494 travel experience, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is seeking to overhaul the section of the interstate that borders Richfield. The goal of the project is to provide transit advantages to increase the number of people who can effectively move through the area, improve the reliability of the average rush hour trip, and improve safety.

“Almost as soon as I-494 was complete through the Richfield/Bloomington area in the late 1960s, the interstate experienced traffic problems,” explained Public Works Director Kristin Asher. “The road sees more than a half a million users travel on it each day and it is congested more than 30 percent of the time. A solution is needed to make it work better for local, regional and statewide travelers.”

Since the 1990s, the City of Richfield has made a substantial investment to its transportation infrastructure to pave the way for the I-494 improvement project. The city has spent $142 million to upgrade 76th Street, 77th Street, Penn Avenue and Lyndale Avenue Bridges.

Bloomington too has made a similar investment in its own transportation system to accommodate the future I-494 project.

The final piece needed to the start of the I-494 project was the 77th Street Underpass.

“The section of I-494 that runs along Richfield’s southern border is one of the most congested sections of interstate in the country,” said Transportation Engineer Jack Broz. “Over the past three decades, the city has done its part to provide area travelers with enhanced transportation options. The only thing left was the underpass.”

In the state bonding bill, the legislature approved $6 million for the project. That, coupled with $7 million from the federal government, $1.5 million from Hennepin County, $4.5 million from MnDOT and other bonding sources, will provide the $21 million needed to complete the project.

The construction of the 77th Street Underpass will complete the I-494 Ring Route, which will allow area residents to efficiently travel east and west from Bush Lake Road to 24th Avenue without the need to get on I-494.

“Improvements to I-494 and the addition of the 77th Street Underpass will lead to increased economic opportunities for the City of Richfield,” pointed out Assistant City Engineer Joe Powers. “Residents will have better access to jobs through a more efficient mass transit system, the city’s tax capacity should increase and it should lure more businesses to the area.”

The benefits area residents will experience from the overhaul of I-494 and the 77th Street Underpass include minimizing the amount of traffic diverting off of the highway onto Richfield’s local road system, better pedestrian and bicyclist crossings, and expanded transit services.

“It took decades to acquire the necessary funding to bring the 77th Street Underpass to Richfield, but both current and previous city, county and state leaders never stopped working and believing in the necessity of this project,” stated Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez. “The benefits of a 77th Underpass are almost too numerous to count. The underpass will not only benefit Richfield residents, but the entire region.”

The 77th Street Underpass project will break ground in the spring of 2021.

This press release was produced by the City of Richfield. The views expressed here are the author’s own.