County Road 9 construction underway

County Road 9 is getting a makeover. The project starts just a little bit east of County Road 81 and goes all the way to the Robbinsdale/Minneapolis city limits.

While the project makes improvements, it's also causing headaches for some homeowners.

"This is actually a pretty busy street," said Robbinsdale resident Roy Ann Larson, who has pink stakes in her front yard. "There are going to be stationed trailers out here. There are going to be porta-potties."

Larson said she was actually surprised to learn about the project.

"One morning you come out and there's a tractor on your lawn," said Larson. "It's just an invasion."

Larson said the road work is already affecting her everyday routine. Crews are tearing up her driveway. The construction is necessary to upgrade sewers and put in sidewalks and a bike path. Hennepin County engineers say the added inconvenience is due to County Road 9 not being a typical county road.

"We're actually narrowing the roadway by one foot on the west half, and five feet on the east half," said Craig Twinem, a Hennepin County engineer. "We have to pay them to be on their private property but then in the end, for the most part, they retain what they already own,"

Still, it's not a comforting thought for homeowners like Roy Ann Larson.

"They're taking 10 feet up, it's called eminent domain." Larson. "They get possession of my land for two years."

"In the end, it's going to be a nice looking corridor with much better pedestrian and bicycle accommodations," said Twinem.

Sonya Goins, reporting

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