Thanks to Lehner Law Office and Minnesota Locks for their support.
Here’s a look at the Charlton Street tunnel when it was installed in 2015 and today.
Charlton Tunnel: 2015
Installing a bike and pedestrian tunnel under Charlton Street in 2015 was part of closing a 1.4-mile gap in Dakota County’s proposed River-to-River Greenway Trail. In addition to the regional trail, the tunnel gave Garlough students safer access to Dodge Nature Center.
Construction closed Charlton Street to install the tunnel, but it went quickly: “It was amazing,” said Josh Kinney, a Dakota County project manager in a 2015 Star Tribune story. “They had it completed, all 14 concrete pieces, 20,000 pounds each, within four days and were already building the road over it on the fourth day.”
The trail: The eight-mile River-to-River Greenway Trail connects Mendota Heights, West St. Paul, and South St. Paul. It runs from the Big Rivers Regional Trail in Lilydale to Kaposia Landing on the Mississippi River in South St. Paul.
- The trail was further improved in 2021 with the Robert Street tunnel and in 2023 with the Thompson Oaks boardwalk bridge.
Mural: In 2022, artists Meg Erke and Megan Moore, with the help of Garlough students, painted a mural along the entire 96-foot length of the tunnel—including the ceiling. Watch a video tour of the full mural.
Charlton Tunnel: 2025
Here’s a look at the tunnel today:
Here are a few more angles, both a clearer view that matches less with the 2015 photo and a better match for the 2015 photo with an obscured view.
And here’s a more summer-y view:
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