Midtown Greenway

The Midtown Greenway is a 5.7mi rail trail in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is considered under segregated cycle facilities.Used both recreationally and for commuting, the partially below-grade Greenway runs east-west about one block north of Lake Street. It provides cyclists, inline skaters, runners and pedestrians a virtually traffic-free route across the city.HistoryThe Greenway lies in a former Milwaukee Road railroad corridor along 29th Street. This corridor had been abandoned west of Hiawatha Avenue but is still active east of Hiawatha as part of the Minnesota Commercial Railway. The rail line was originally built between 1879 and 1881; however, as traffic increased, the city of Minneapolis mandated a trench be built between Hiawatha and Irving avenues in 1910. The trench, bridges and retaining walls were evaluated in 1989 as part of the Reinforced-Concrete Highway Bridges in Minnesota MPS, and then listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Grade Separation. In 1993, the railroad property was purchased by the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority.