Overview

• MnDOT’s finalized $45 million design shifts the Lowry and University intersection south to spare Stanley’s Northeast Bar Room and three adjacent businesses from demolition.
• The redesign reduces University Avenue to one travel lane each direction with a shared center turn lane, adds bike lanes, widens sidewalks, installs medians and removes on-street parking.
• Community feedback and MnDOT’s technical review replaced earlier roundabout and eminent domain proposals with the new less-intrusive layout.
• From 2020 to 2024, the intersection recorded 126 collisions—four times the statewide average—and Stanley’s building endured over 25 vehicle strikes.
• Construction on the corridor-wide safety overhaul, covering 27th Avenue NE to Central Avenue, is slated to begin in 2027.