The most recent construction season has been particularly hard on local businesses, but elected leaders say that the completion of one major overhaul on Hennepin Avenue should provide some reprieve, for now.

On a brisk Monday, Mayor Jacob Frey, a handful of Minneapolis council members, and local business owners gathered at the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and 28th Street in front of road-closed signs to announce the reopening of the Uptown corridor and the conclusion of phase one of the Hennepin Ave. S. reconstruction.

Starting Tuesday, the corridor, from W. Lake St. to W 26th St., will reopen with a new “multimodal design,” aimed at improving access for walkers, transit users, bikers, and drivers. The project reduced Hennepin Avenue from four vehicular traffic lanes to two to make space for dedicated bus lanes. Metro transit will also resume passage through the corridor on Wednesday.

“This has been a road in Hennepin that has not been redone in over 50 years,” said Mayor Frey. “While I know this had been burdensome to many people, this was necessary.”

The Minneapolis mayor listed off many benefits of the reconstruction, including clearer and more organized lanes for drivers, wider sidewalks for pedestrians, and protected bike lanes for cyclists. Below the surface, 14 water lead service lines were replaced along with more than 200 feet of new underground structures for stormwater treatment.

Jeff Veigel, owner of Uptown fixture Isles Bun & Coffee, shared that the most recent times have been the most difficult as a Uptown business owner. “This has been a difficult time for all businesses in south Minneapolis, and the construction added to those difficulties,” Veigel said. “We’re looking forward to this space being finished, access being reformed, and the revitalization of the area.”

Mayor Frey added: “A very clear message to everyone: Uptown is open, the street will now be open, too. Construction season is complete.”

Until the spring that is, when phase two of the Hennepin Ave. S. construction begins from W. 26th St. N. to Douglas Ave., taking its “multimodal” vision further north.

Leaders from the public works team involved with the project shared lessons learned that they hope to integrate into phase two of the project, including better communication and coordination with businesses impacted by the construction.

From a policy perspective, leaders are also investing about $1 million into this year’s budget for 2025 toward creating a safety net for businesses and continuous economic development for the corridor.

“How do we help revitalize a corridor and think about that holistically?” said council vice president Aisha Chughtai. “Investments in infrastructure are generational, but you have to help the community make it through to reap those benefits.”

This includes $100,000 set aside for technical assistance for Uptown businesses, funds for placemaking and public art in Uptown, and a technical panel that oversees Uptown revitalization, according to Chughtai.

“Looking at phase two, I would say to businesses and residents that are going to be affected by inconveniences inherent to construction, we’re moving as fast as we want to give back your street to you,” she said.

Of course, this stretch of Hennepin Avenue is just one of several construction projects that have gummed up traffic and caused headaches for local businesses. The transit bus stop construction at 50th and France in Edina is finally wrapping up in November after starting in July. The construction for sanitary sewer improvements in Linden Hills also wrapped up in October after beginning in June.

“We are very happy to have this phase of construction reopened,” said Veigel of Isles Bun & Coffee. “We hope as many people as possible came back to Uptown, Lake Street, and Hennepin Avenue as the city comes back.”