Duluth’s first protected bike lane open for traffic

The Twin Ports Interchange Project has disrupted several aspects of the Lincoln Park neighborhood, from traffic to residential properties. A portion of the Cross-City Bike Trail was also shut down when construction began, but thanks to funding from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, a new bike lane is up and running in its place.

"This closed a huge gap for when the Twin Ports Interchange is under construction," said the project’s lead engineer, City Voigt. "We have a real hard time getting around down here, and having this corridor for alternative transportation is really huge for the city."

The rerouted bike lane is the City of Duluth’s first protected lane, running through the business district of Lincoln Park.

The City, MnDOT, and community activists came together to bring this project to life. MnDOT paid $257,000.

"When the bike community recognized that the Cross-City Trail was going to be closed for three years after we worked so hard to build this corridor. So we had multiple public meetings with Lincoln Park, selected a route, did the design, and bid it out, and now it’s finally constructed," shared Voigt. "We can’t thank MnDOT enough for agreeing to cover bike accommodations in a way that is safe and showcases the Lincoln Park business district."

Shannon Laing, the director of the Main Street Program for Ecolibrium3, agrees, "This is a fantastic opportunity for folks to see how well a protected bikeway can work in a commercial corridor. By gathering data while this detour is in place, an accurate picture of what works and what doesn’t can be formulated for future street designs in Duluth."