Bloomington Public Works is deep into what it calls the North Central Sanitary Sewer Project, a two-year effort to lay 13,330 feet of 24-inch sewer pipe from American Boulevard and Morgan Avenue down to Syndicate Avenue and West 92nd Street, including a crossing beneath I-35W near the I-35W/I-494 interchange.
The route follows American Boulevard from Knox Avenue east, then turns south on Irving Avenue, crosses under the freeway, continues down Fremont Avenue and heads east along West 92nd Street to tie into the Metropolitan Council's regional interceptor line, according to the city's project page. The state kicked in $4 million in bonding money, awarded in May, to help fund the work.
The pipe is going in beneath the Penn American District, the stretch of American Boulevard between Penn Avenue and I-35W that's been the city's redevelopment focus for over a decade. Phase 1 there, a $45 million project with 234 rental units and retail, opened back in 2012. Since then the area has added a mixed-use building with a Hilton extended-stay hotel and a 200-seat restaurant, and it's now slated for a 248-unit apartment complex tied to a future Orange Line bus rapid transit station. The existing sewer system wasn't sized for that kind of density, which is what's driving the upgrade.
Design work started in 2025, and construction is running from 2026 into fall 2027. To limit the mess on top of a corridor already busy with transit and freeway traffic, crews are using trenchless installation rather than digging an open trench along the whole route. The city says there are no special assessments tied to the sewer work itself, though a related street reconstruction project in the area does carry assessments. Sanitary sewer utility funds are covering the city's share of the cost.
Public Works says residents with questions can reach the department at 952-563-8700 or [email protected]; project-specific questions go to civil engineer Darin Rezac at 952-563-4540.