Can the Public Sector Offset Road-Construction Losses?

Business + Economy Can the Public Sector Offset Road-Construction Losses? Hennepin Avenue was a cautionary tale. By Amanda Week October 25, 2026 When Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis closed for 18 months of reconstruction in 2024 and 2025, small businesses looked to government to relieve massive losses. Nothing was forthcoming, and some businesses did not survive. It’s now a cautionary tale as Minneapolis moves forward with a two- to three-year redesign of parallel Lyndale Avenue that’s slated to begin in 2028. In 2024, Minneapolis councilmembers Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10) and Aurin Chowdhury (Ward 12) introduced a 2025–26 budget amendment for $900,000 to establish forgivable loans for affected businesses. City Hall said funds were never disbursed because there were no clear guidelines in the amendment. The devil is in the details for businesses suffering the economic consequences of road work, says state Rep. Katie Jones, who represents the area. “This portion of south Minneapolis needs greater time … to recover and businesses to start to [recuperate] before the Lyndale construction.” —Carrie McCabe-Johnston, proprietor, Litt Pinball Bar, Mortimer’s Bar, Nightingale LITT Pinball Bar moved into the old Liquor Lyle’s space at Hennepin and Franklin in 2023, not long before road work started. “We were just figuring out who we were as a business, and we immediately saw a decline in sales,” says owner Carrie McCabe-Johnston; from April to October 2023, the bar’s monthly sales were consistently down 15–19% in an industry with profit margins well below that. The building’s parking lot helped maintain some business, but heavy equipment in front of LITT affected visibility. McCabe-Johnston’s businesses on Lyndale, Mortimer’s Bar and Nightingale, will be affected by the upcoming project. “I’m very nervous about it because Nightingale doesn’t have street parking. … This portion of south Minneapolis needs greater time … to recover and businesses to start to [recuperate] before the Lyndale construction.” Southwest Minneapolis Ward 7 Councilmember Elizabeth Shaffer doubts the city’s capacity to aid businesses facing losses of five to seven figures of revenue: “If the city were to try to do that for every infrastructure project underway, that would be very difficult, given the city’s fiscal challenges.” At her urging, the council shortened the Lyndale project’s duration by extending construction hours. LITT Pinball Bar was in the epicenter of Hennepin Avenue construction. Jones is pushing for a state grant program for affected businesses: “We’re identifying a fund within DEED’s current purview … it does seem like there’s real opportunity.” (DEED is the state Department of Employment and Economic Development.) However, Arcade may be a counterexample, Jones says, suggesting that fewer yet larger grants might be more impactful than spreading funding out among a greater number of businesses. “If [fewer] businesses get $10,000 or $30,000, that can actually help them make rent for the six months [in] construction season.”