Highway 65 Reconstruction in Blaine | A $200 Million Transformation Aims to Redefine Safety, Mobility, and Growth in the North Metro

BLAINE, MN

For decades, Highway 65 has carried the weight of the north metro’s growth. What was once a suburban arterial has become one of Minnesota’s most congested and hazardous corridors, a roadway where rapid development outpaced the infrastructure designed to support it.

This spring, that imbalance begins to shift.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation, in partnership with Anoka County and the City of Blaine, is preparing to launch a sweeping reconstruction of Highway 65 between 97th Avenue and approximately 125th Avenue. Backed by more than $200 million in state and federal funding, the four-year project will fundamentally reengineer how traffic moves through one of the region’s busiest corridors.

Construction is scheduled to begin in April 2026, with completion anticipated in fall 2029.

From Signalized Corridor to Freeway Design

At the center of the project is a structural transformation. The current system of signalized, at-grade intersections will be replaced with grade-separated interchanges, allowing Highway 65 traffic to flow continuously without stopping.

Interchanges are planned at:

• 99th Avenue
• 105th Avenue
• 109th Avenue (County Highway 12)
• 117th Avenue / Cloud Drive

Once complete, vehicles traveling along Highway 65 will pass over these crossings, eliminating the stop-and-go conditions that have long defined the corridor. Local traffic will instead move through a network of frontage and backage roads, preserving access to homes, businesses, and commercial centers while reducing direct conflict points.

The redesign effectively converts this stretch of Highway 65 into a limited-access, freeway-style corridor, aligning it with modern traffic engineering standards for high-volume suburban routes.

A Corridor Defined by Risk

The urgency behind the project is rooted in safety.

State transportation data has consistently identified segments of Highway 65 in Blaine as having crash rates significantly above the statewide average, with some areas experiencing fatal and severe injury crashes at rates multiple times higher than comparable roadways.

The primary source of that risk is the concentration of signalized intersections, where left turns, cross traffic, and inconsistent speeds create repeated conflict points.

By eliminating those intersections and replacing them with interchanges, MnDOT expects a substantial reduction in serious crashes. The design removes the need for vehicles to cross opposing lanes of traffic and reduces sudden braking patterns that contribute to rear-end collisions.

Engineering for Movement and Access

Beyond the interchanges, the project introduces a layered system designed to separate through-traffic from local circulation.

New frontage and backage roads will reroute driveways and side-street access away from Highway 65 itself. This shift is intended to reduce congestion caused by vehicles entering and exiting the corridor while maintaining connectivity for residents and businesses.

Additional infrastructure improvements include:

• Reconstruction of sidewalks to meet ADA accessibility standards
• Upgraded stormwater and drainage systems
• Potential installation of noise walls, contingent on community input
• A new pedestrian bridge between 113th and 114th Avenues, providing a safe crossing over a corridor that currently acts as a barrier within the city

These elements reflect a broader approach that treats the corridor not only as a traffic route, but as a piece of civic infrastructure that must function safely for drivers, pedestrians, and surrounding neighborhoods alike.

What Drivers Will Experience

MnDOT officials say the project has been structured to minimize disruption where possible, though impacts are unavoidable given the scale of construction.

For much of the project timeline, two lanes of traffic in each direction are expected to remain open. Even so, drivers should prepare for:

• Periodic lane closures and shifting traffic patterns
• Temporary detours, particularly during bridge construction phases
• Increased congestion during peak periods and major events

That last factor is especially relevant in Blaine, where destinations such as the National Sports Center and TPC Twin Cities regularly generate surges in traffic that already strain the existing roadway.

The Promise of Time Returned

The long-term payoff is expected to be substantial.

Transportation modeling from MnDOT indicates that travel times through the corridor during peak periods could drop dramatically once construction is complete, with trips that can take upwards of 30 to 40 minutes today potentially reduced to closer to 10 minutes under free-flow conditions.

Equally important is reliability. By removing traffic signals and smoothing vehicle flow, the corridor is expected to deliver more predictable commute times, a critical factor for both residents and commercial operators.

Funding and the Politics of Infrastructure

The project reached full funding in late 2025 after years of planning and advocacy at the local and state levels.

Its financing includes a combination of Minnesota legislative appropriations and federal support, including a $20 million grant through the federal RAISE program. Together, these investments pushed total funding beyond $200 million, clearing the final barrier to construction.

For Blaine officials, the moment represents the culmination of years of coordinated effort to secure resources for a corridor widely seen as essential to the city’s economic future.

A Structural Reset for a Growing City

Highway 65 is more than a road. It is a commercial spine, a commuter route, and, increasingly, a dividing line between parts of a rapidly expanding city.

What this project offers is not simply reconstruction, but recalibration.

By separating local and through traffic, reducing crash risks, and restoring travel reliability, the redesign acknowledges a reality that has been building for years: the infrastructure of the past can no longer carry the demands of the present.

When construction concludes in 2029, Blaine will not just have a rebuilt highway. It will have a corridor designed for the scale, speed, and complexity of the region it has become.

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