The Blue Line light rail station at Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis is getting its first major renovation since it opened in 2004, with the Metropolitan Council now seeking a construction contractor to carry out the work.
The station sits at one of the most significant intersections in the Twin Cities: the heart of the Lake Street corridor, home to large Latino, East African, and Native American communities, and just blocks from the epicenter of the 2020 unrest that damaged or destroyed more than 1,500 properties in the surrounding area. Recovery investment has flowed into the corridor since then through state and county programs, and the station upgrade fits into that broader reinvestment push.
The timing also lines up with a major transit change on Lake Street. The B Line BRT, replacing Metro Transit's heavily used Route 21, is scheduled to open in 2026 and will connect directly at this station, making it a more critical transfer hub than ever. Upgrading the station before that service launches keeps the interchange functional from day one.
Source: NationGraph.
The Blue Line, originally called the Hiawatha Line when it became Minnesota's first light rail line in 2004, is showing its age across several stations after more than two decades of continuous use. Federal infrastructure funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has opened new grant opportunities for exactly this kind of state-of-good-repair work, and the Met Council appears to be moving on several fronts. Coverage of broader Blue Line development planning has tracked how the region is trying to get ahead of growth along the corridor.
The specific cost and construction timeline for the Lake Street renovation have not been made public in the solicitation materials. The Metropolitan Council, which governs transit across the seven-county Twin Cities region, posted the construction RFP on July 2, 2026. Once a contractor is selected and a contract awarded, the full scope and schedule should come into clearer view.
