It’s the last opportunity to comment on MnDOT’s plans for Hwy. 252

This week, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will host the first of several meetings allowing the public to comment on the agency’s plans to transform Hwy. 252 into a freeway. Yes, MnDOT has held countless meetings and accepted comments over the past decade as it studied ways to remake the busy road through Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. But now MnDOT finally has settled on a preferred design. And this month’s meetings mark the last time the public can give input and shape the final outcome, said project manager Amber Blanchard. “This is really the opportunity for people to express their opinions,” Blanchard said. “I think people have a lot to say.” Advertisement They have all along. Residents and property owners opposing any conversion have long said a rebuild will increase traffic, noise and pollution, and bring health and economic harm. Plans to redo Hwy. 252 have been controversial from the start. The original set of layouts from the 2010s eventually were tossed out, and MnDOT started over. The reboot generated 10 new concepts, of which one has risen to the top. The leading option calls for a freeway consisting of two lanes and a bus shoulder in each direction between I-694 and Hwy. 610. The plan would replace stoplights at with full interchanges at 66th Avenue, 85th Avenue and Brookdale Drive. A bridge with no access to Hwy. 252 would go in at 73rd Avenue to facilitate east-west crossings for vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians. Bridges for bikes and pedestrians would go in at Humboldt/81st Avenues and 70th Avenue.