The MPRB is in the early stages of analyzing the condition of the Works Projects Administration (WPA) wall along the western bank of Lake Harriet. Over time the wall has severely degraded leaving very unstable shoreline conditions. If nothing is done the wall will soon collapse resulting in eventual shoreline erosion. Lake Harriet Parkway constrains the land available for recreation around the lake with the exception of the Bandshell area. In most places the separated bicycle and pedestrian trails consume all available land between parkway and lakeshore.
The goal is to come up with a strategy to either repair the WPA wall or come up with an alternative design approach to stabilize the shoreline. Once a suitable approach has been chosen to correct this problem construction documents will be prepared so that work can begin to correct this problem. Due to the extensive repair work needed and the delicate nature of it, it is highly likely that the repair work will need to be phased over multiple years.
Coordination with necessary permitting agencies will be an on-going process to ensure whatever solution is chosen to repair the wall is acceptable.