Midtown Park Being Temporarily Removed to Make Room for Interchange Project

DULUTH, Minn.–The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is dismantling Midtown Park to be able to take down a bridge as part of the Twin Port Interchange Project.

They want the public to know that the ramps and rails for the skatepark that was housed there, will be stored for the next three years. With hopes to bring back the park once construction wraps up.

Midtown Park was tucked directly under I-35 in the Lincoln Park neighborhood at the intersection of First Street and Twentieth Avenue West. In recent years, the area became a popular place for skateboarders to hangout, which also had a basketball court.

This is a particularly sad situation for Damage Boardshop that sits just down the road from the park. Owners of Damage have made efforts to spruce up the condition of the skatepark in years past. In a Facebook post, Damage Boardshop says they have been working with the city of Duluth on finding ways to keep the park completely open. However, plans have had to change to make room for MnDOT to demolish that portion of the highway.

Public Engagement & Communications Director, Pippi Mayfield, says, “We need to remove it for safety obviously because we’re going to be taking down the bridges up above it”.

Mayfield went on to say, “We don’t want to be making a decision for everybody saying this is what has to be done, we want to work with our partners and see what’s best for the community”.

MnDOT plans to start demolishing the portion of I-35 beginning in early November, so Midtown Park will be completely removed within the next couple of weeks. It will take around two years to fully demolish the bridge portions of I-35 near Midtown.