The window Hennepin County set aside to rebuild the railroad crossing on West Old Shakopee Road (County Road 1), just east of Hampshire Avenue, has come and gone. The road was scheduled to close from Monday, July 27, through Friday, July 31. The city updated its notice about the project on Aug. 12. The updated notice sends questions to Bloomington Public Works at 952-563-8700 or [email protected], and it points readers to Hennepin County's road maintenance projects page for more details.
That county page doesn't say whether the crossing is finished. Its current list of County Road 1 work in Bloomington covers only repaving on 24th Avenue S/East Old Shakopee Road between Springside Lane and the I-494 bridge, plus pedestrian ramp work on 2 other stretches of Old Shakopee Road. The railroad crossing projects it lists right now are in Crystal and Maple Grove, not Bloomington.
How we got here: on July 24, the city announced that Hennepin County, which owns the road, would close West Old Shakopee Road just east of Hampshire Avenue for a week. The city said the full closure was needed so crews could reconstruct the railroad crossing. Every lane was shut, along with the sidewalks on both sides of the road. If you walk that stretch, that meant no squeezing past the work zone on foot.
The county coordinated the work with the railroads. Drivers were sent around on a detour using Normandale Boulevard, I-494 and East Bush Lake Road, which adds a few miles but stays on main roads. The city also warned that the schedule depended on the weather, so the July 31 end date was a target rather than a promise.
The first version of this story listed Hennepin County project manager Brian Edwards as a contact. The city's updated notice now names Public Works as the place to call. If you're still running into trouble at the crossing, or you want to confirm the work is done, call Public Works at 952-563-8700.
