Sunset Drive reconstruction

Hennepin County, the cities of Spring Park and Orono, and Three Rivers Park District, are working together to reconstruct Sunset Drive (County Road 51) between Shoreline Drive (County Road 15) and Shadywood Road (County Road 19).

Construction is anticipated to begin in 2026.

Final design

Through a multi-year and targeted outreach effort, county staff gathered feedback about the project. We shared features and basic layouts. We met people in person and online. All with a focus on key goals of the project:

• Incorporating new multi-modal features focused on safety and mobility  
• Improving traffic flow
• Improving connectivity by adding trail access    

We have refined our designs based on input and now have final designs for the project.

• Final designs for Sunset Drive (PDF, 6MB) 

When this project is complete, people using Sunset Drive will notice:

• Striped medians and other traffic calming measures for a safer, smoother flow of traffic through the area
• Sidewalks along the corridor for people walking
• Paved shoulders for bicycles to be separated from vehicle traffic
• A concrete median between Shoreline Drive and Northern Avenue to help people cross the road
• New alignment for the Dakota Rail Regional Trail for better regional trail connections

There will be other improvements, such as buried utilities, new sanitary sewer and new watermain infrastructure.