Minnehaha Park restoration begins in earnest

Minnehaha Park is undergoing a six-month, $5.8 million restoration to stabilize stream banks, rebuild historic walls, put down new trails and protect bluffs. A public ground-breaking ceremony marked the start of the project November 20th.

A 4-inch rainfall in October 2005 caused the creek to flood. The water undermined historic limestone creekside walls built in the 1930s as part of a federal Works Progress Administration project. The incident prompted the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the Minneapolis Park Board to support the restoration project.

New footings will be installed in the creek for some sections of the wall and some walls will be rebuilt.

The park's 800,000-plus annual visitors cause erosion along the creek shoreline, so the project includes plans for thick limestone slabs to shield the banks.

Rain gardens will capture storm water that now runs down the bluffs into the creek, and natural vegetation will be planted along the creek to replace rock piles. Workers will also remove buckthorn and plant new plants and shrubs in the park.

The Watershed District is working with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the Minnesota Veterans Home, the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fund the project.