East River Parkway, trail closed by mudslide near U of M

Minneapolis park officials have closed a portion of a popular recreational trail and parkway after a mudslide. East River Parkway and nearby path are closed from the Washington Avenue bridge to Arlington Street, just below the University of Minnesota campus on the east bank of the Mississippi River.

Cliff Swenson, director of design and project management for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, said it’s not clear whether recent heavy rain caused part of the hillside to wash away. But with more rain forecast, they want to be sure no one is hurt if the bank deteriorates.

"We just need to know what is the root cause of this and then what are the next steps. It's hard to know what we going to do next year to solve this,” Swenson said.

At around 9:30 a.m., U of M staff alerted the park board to the mudslide. Swenson said not much of the bank has moved downhill, but it’s possible more erosion could happen.

Officials would like to open the parkway as quickly as they can safely. In the meantime, drone operators with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office were out examining the bank Wednesday afternoon. Swenson said consultants will do other studies of the bedrock and the soil to learn more about the area’s stability.

Metro Transit suspended service for about an hour between Stadium Village and West Bank stations over concerns that the Washington Avenue bridge could be affected by sliding earth. But Swenson said they determined the bridge was separate from the slope.