The Biggest Thing Plymouth's Highway 55 Project Builds Is a Way to Cross It

Most of the detours around Highway 55 and County Road 73 in Plymouth are over. On Sept. 15, the City of Plymouth reported that the realigned County Road 73, Zachary Lane, Sunset Trail and the frontage road south of Highway 55 had reopened. Highway 55 closed on June 16, 2025, and reopened on Nov. 12, 2025. It has stayed open through this year's work. In its Oct. 23 update, the city said underground utility work was nearly finished, paving was done across large parts of the project, and completion was expected this fall.

Drivers will notice the new roundabouts and the realigned road first. Once the cones are gone, though, the change that matters most is for people walking and biking. This project was designed so they can get across Highway 55.

Where Things Stand This Week

The project, officially called the Station 73 TRIP (Transit and Regional Improvement Program), has opened in stages. Here is the status according to the city's most recent bulletins:

• Open since Sept. 15: the realigned County Road 73, Zachary Lane, Sunset Trail, and the frontage road south of Highway 55 and west of County Road 73.
• Closed to through traffic as of Sept. 15, with local and business access kept open: Old County Road 15, South Shore Drive and 10th Avenue. At that point the city expected them to reopen "later this fall."
• Open throughout: Highway 55, plus access to the Station 73 Park and Ride and nearby businesses.
• Overall completion: expected this fall, according to the Oct. 23 update. The project overview lists construction as running "through end of 2026."

For exact reopening dates on the last few streets, the most reliable source is the city's Station 73 project page, which also has an eNotify email sign-up. There is also a project hotline at 763-251-1010.

The Turn That Goes Away for Good

One change removes a movement drivers have relied on. The city scheduled crews to begin building a center median at South Shore Drive and the North Frontage Road on Monday, Oct. 26. Once finished, the median will permanently convert that intersection from full access to right-in/right-out. In the city's words:

Right-in: Drivers can only turn right from South Shore Drive into the North Frontage Road. Right-out: Drivers can only turn right out of the North Frontage Road onto South Shore Drive.

The city's Oct. 23 bulletin adds that left turns, U-turns and driving straight across South Shore Drive will no longer be allowed. If your usual route involves a left turn there, expect to use one of the new roundabouts instead. The project builds three of them: at County Road 73 and Sunset Trail, at South Shore Drive and 10th Avenue, and at Zachary Lane and Sunset Trail.

The project's scope also includes reconstructing about 3,000 feet of Highway 55 and about 1,500 feet of South Shore Drive and 10th Avenue, and realigning County Road 73 from Highway 55 to Sunset Trail.

What the Road Work Was Making Room For

The city's own explanation of the project says little about car traffic at first. Its overview says the Highway 55 and County Road 73 area offered pedestrians and bicyclists "no direct or safe route" across Highway 55 to reach city parks, regional trails, the Station 73 transit facility and nearby businesses. The road geometry problems, which the city describes as delays and safety issues for drivers, Plymouth Metrolink buses and cyclists, are listed second.

The fix for walkers and cyclists is a trail underpass beneath Highway 55, plus new bus stops on both sides of the highway. Three Rivers Park District reached the same conclusion on its own. The district's December 2021 long-range plan for the Eagle Lake and Bryant Lake regional trails names Highway 55 as one of the major barriers that planned crossing improvements were meant to address.

The roundabouts, the realignment and the closures of the past two summers were built as one package with that crossing.

Where the New Trail Leads

The underpass is one link in a longer trail. The project includes about 1.2 miles of new Eagle Lake Regional Trail, running from the Luce Line Trail to 1st Avenue North, along with new sidewalks.

The full Eagle Lake Regional Trail is a north-south route. Three Rivers' plan describes it running from Eagle Lake Regional Park in Maple Grove to the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail in Minnetonka, with the wider system continuing south to Bryant Lake Regional Park in Eden Prairie. The planned network is meant to connect with the Medicine Lake, Bassett Creek, Luce Line, Lake Minnetonka and Minnesota River Bluffs regional trails. The plan also lists French Regional Park and East Medicine Lake Park as destinations along the corridor.

When the plan was written, Plymouth's part of the trail was 7.1 miles long. Of that, 5.9 miles already existed and 1.2 miles were still planned. Those 1.2 miles are the stretch this project builds. The plan describes a 0.4-mile piece along South Shore Drive that connects directly to South Shore Park.

Put together, the finished project gives someone on the Luce Line Trail a continuous route north under Highway 55 toward the trails around Medicine Lake. They can then keep going north toward French Regional Park and Eagle Lake Regional Park.

The Station 73 transit center is the last piece. Its upgrades include wayfinding signs, a bike repair station, a charging area for e-bikes and scooters, and space set aside for rideshare pickups.

Who Paid for It

The funding also shows what the project was for. A federal grant covered more than half of the city's estimate. The project received a $15 million RAISE grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2022. Minnesota added $5,077,600 through its IIJA Discretionary Match Program. Hennepin County's 2026 capital budget sets aside $1,025,000 as the county's share for County Road 73. That money comes from its Metro Tax for active transportation, the category that covers walking and biking.

In November 2024, a City Council staff report put the project's proposed cost in the 2025–2034 capital improvement plan at $27,505,000. That was a planning estimate made before construction began, so treat it as a rough figure. The final cost will come once the work wraps up.

The Winter Question

Since the project is wrapping up just before snow season, the next practical question is whether the new trail will be cleared. Three Rivers Park District maintains more than 120 miles of regional trail from Nov. 1 through April 15, working with local cities. Its 2025–26 plowing list shows both the Luce Line and the Medicine Lake regional trails in Plymouth as plowed. The new Eagle Lake segment and the Highway 55 underpass are not on that list.

Three Rivers' 2021 plan says the district generally does not plow regional trails from Nov. 16 to March 31, but local cities can maintain segments under winter-use permits. Whether the new segment gets plowed will depend on that kind of arrangement. Until a decision is posted, the Luce Line Trail is the dependable winter route on the south end. For residents who use city trails, Plymouth says it clears more than 130 miles of them after a typical snowfall of 2 inches or more, a job that usually takes at least 48 hours.

For more on the parks, trails and everyday routes that make up this side of the city, see our Plymouth neighborhood guide.

If your home is near the new trail, or you're wondering how projects like this one tend to affect the blocks around them, the team at Ulrich Real Estate Group is glad to share what we're seeing. Start Your Home Search with people who keep up with Plymouth's road and trail work through every construction season.