Minnesota Department of Transportation

511 Travel Info

Highway 3/Robert Street

St. Paul and West St. Paul

We are also conducting a nearby study on South Robert St. between Mendota Rd. and Annapolis St. in West St. Paul. For more information, visit the study webpage.

About this project

Hwy 3/Robert Street in St. Paul project location map

Robert St. in St. Paul project area map

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We are planning significant improvements to Robert St. between Annapolis St. and Fillmore Ave. Construction will likely occur in 2026-2028. The project will repair or replace the roadway pavement, replace sidewalks, improve safety, and will be coordinated with other infrastructure work planned along the corridor such as utility replacement and transit improvements.

In August 2024, the Robert St. Project received $7 million from the Metropolitan Council's Regional Solicitation, a comprehensive transportation funding package. This will help fund the full reconstruction of the roadway.

We are continuing to move forward with design options for the viaduct while we explore possible funding sources. We will continue to make repairs to the viaduct on an as-needed basis.

In the meantime, we have made several repairs along Robert St., including pedestrian improvements and minor repairs of the Robert St. Bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Paul in 2020 and repairs to the Robert St./George St. viaduct and the bridge over the Union Pacific railroad in 2022.

Any future work along Robert St. will be completed in coordination with other public entities, including the City of St. Paul and the Metropolitan Council, to limit construction disruptions for residents, businesses and property owners.

Summary of work

  • Began fall 2020: Test temporary curb extensions at the intersections of Baker St. and Robert St. and Isabel St. and Robert St.
  • 2026-2028: Construction of corridor improvements
  • Complete: Repaired the George St. bridge and the viaduct between Cesar Chavez and King St. East, and repaired and resurfaced the Robert St. bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad tracks
  • Complete: Micro-surface and restripe Robert St. between Annapolis St. (south of the Mississippi River) and 11th St. in downtown St. Paul (just south of I-94)
  • Complete: Repair Robert St. Bridge over the Mississippi River

Parking study

Hwy 3/Robert Street in St. Paul daily parking utilization map

Robert St. in St. Paul daily parking utilization map

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The MnDOT team completed a parking study on Robert St. at eight different times in December 2023. The study showed how people are using on-street parking on Robert St. Many places that currently have on-street parking are underutilized.

Highlights of the study and input we’ve heard from the community include:

  • The most highly parked block with 55% use was Wyoming St. and Winona St. on the east side of Robert St.
  • 51% of survey respondents recommended adding on-street parking between Isabel St. and Cesar Chavez St.
  • The second section people most often wanted to add on-street parking and improve crossings was from Winona St. to Annapolis St.
  • 21% of survey respondents did not support adding any new parking on Robert St.
  • A recommended solution will not be one-size-fits-all.

Community engagement for the future of Robert St.

As we develop design concepts, we are focusing on creating a safer Robert St. for everyone — whether walking, bicycling, rolling, using transit or driving. There are several ways we can solve these safety challenges, but some changes require trade-offs.

Since 2020, we have gathered input from thousands of community members around Robert St. safety improvements. In 2024, we heard from hundreds of people about their experiences with and priorities for Robert St. Based on this input, we are in the process of developing concepts for what the Robert St. redesign might look like. We anticipate that a proposed design for Robert St. will be ready for community review later this year.

Learn more about what we heard from the community in spring 2024.

Pedestrian safety pilot project

Curb extensions at Robert St. and Baker St. intersection
Curb extensions at Robert St. and Baker St. intersection

We installed temporary safety features at the intersections of Baker St. and Robert St. and Isabel St. and Robert St. in October 2020.

These temporary safety features, called curb extensions (or bump-outs or bulb-outs), visually and physically narrow the roadway. This creates shorter crossings for pedestrians and increases visibility for people walking and driving. Curb extensions will not take any parking away or affect access to driveways, but may make parking near the corner more difficult.

The goal of this project is to test the curb extensions before committing to them as a long-term design improvement at the intersection. While the curb extensions are in place, we are evaluating pedestrian and driver behavior and determining the impact they have on traffic, such as pedestrian usage and vehicle speeds.

There is currently no specific date for the removal of the extensions, but they will be maintained by MnDOT for the foreseeable future.

Share your thoughts on these temporary curb extensions by completing our feedback form.

Traffic impacts

All traffic impacts are tentative and weather dependent.

Upcoming

Information about upcoming traffic impacts will be posted as details become available.