In early June road work starts on this heavily traveled north-south artery in Blaine and it’s going to impact many businesses and drivers in the North Metro.
The goal of the meetings is to keep everyone up to date as work is being done for the next few years.
“MnDOT’s doing a very aggressive outreach program here – especially at the beginning of the project, giving them contact information,” said Dan Schluender, Blaine’s Director of Engineering. “Websites to connect with if there’s an issue to let ’em know. Their goal is to have a similar meeting at the beginning of each season to again, relay the new information. What’s happened? What’s gonna happen and continue to keep them informed, so they’re not surprised by traffic shifts or road closures on the side streets.”
“Highway 65 Blaine interchanges project is a huge project for us,” said MnDOT’s Kent Barnard. “It’s been in the works for many years. We’ve studied it and then we’ve re-studied it. Now we’ve got the funding and we’re moving forward starting in June of 2026. The project will be completed in the summer of 2030.”
Major upgrades
When finished the major upgrades will improve safety and mobility on highway 65 between 97th Ave. and 121st Ave. The changes will speed up travel time and reduce crashes on the highway. However, there will be some pain before the gain.
“I think the businesses and the residents in this area and the commuters in this area, understand that there will be a little bit of pain before we get to that final project where we have lessened congestion, we’ve smoothed out traffic flow,” Barnard said. “We’re gonna have smoother roadways, safer access for pedestrians and bicyclists along the corridor.”
“From an engagement perspective I think the community is engaged in what’s going on here,” Schluender said. “It’s taken us five years to get to this point. People are still telling us that they’ve been dealing with this for 20 plus years. I think the community is really excited about it. We’re seeing a lot of engagement with the residents, which is exciting to see the community’s on board with what’s coming and knows there’s going to be a little pain and heartbreak as we go through the process, but I think everyone’s got that vision to see what the end goal looks like and everyone’s excited for that.”
The project has been dubbed, “Thrive on 65.”
