Regularly updated traffic information
Background Information about UPA
Legislation and grant information about UPA
- US DOT UPA
- Minneapolis
- Executive summary -updated Nov. 2007
Other UPA Cities
- Miami
- San Francisco
- Seattle area (King County)
Transit improvements through the Urban Partnership Agreement
Downtown Minneapolis
Transit Improvements – Transit Stations and Park & Ride Lots
The city of Minneapolis Public Works Department began reconstruction of Marquette Avenue S. and 2nd Avenue S. in downtown in June 2008. Street reconstruction has been completed north of 5th Street on Maquette and north of Washington on 2nd Avenue. Most private utility work will be completed on both streets by spring 2009. The remaining street reconstruction and all sidewalk reconstruction will be completed by December 2009. Commuters should expect delays and transit rerouting during the construction season.
TRANSIT IMPROVEMENTS THROUGH THE URBAN PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
Many of the region’s express buses will use dual bus lanes on Marquette Avenue and 2nd Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis. The dual bus lanes, which will be provided as part of the UPA project, will triple the transit capacity of the existing Marquette and 2nd Avenue contraflow bus lanes and will dramatically improve transit travel times through downtown by allowing buses to pass each other.
Plans for the Marquette/Second transit project (MARQ2) call for the reconstruction of both streets between the Post Office (1st Street South) and the Convention Center (12th Street South). Each street will have two traffic lanes operating in the same direction as today as well as the dual contraflow bus lanes. Transit shelters, wider sidewalks, landscaping and streetscaping will be provided. Several of the transit facilities will have real-time electronic departure information signs.
UPA funding for the MARQ2 transit project includes approximately $32 million for street reconstruction and approximately $9 million for transit passenger facilities.
Once completed, express buses now operating on Nicollet Mall will be shifted to Marquette and Second avenues. This action will reduce peak-period bus traffic on the Mall by about 35 percent and will clear the way for all transit service on Nicollet Mall to be operated with hybrid electric buses, resulting in a quieter, cleaner mall environment for pedestrians, shoppers and diners.
Beginning in March 2008, the City’s Public Works Department engaged in a series of stakeholder and public meetings to explain the project and its construction schedule.
In 2008, the city completed final design and finished the first construction season, focusing primarily on the north end of the project. Construction must be completed by Dec. 31, 2009, in order to comply with UPA’s strict and aggressive timelines.
Go to www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/CIP/2nd-Marquette for more information on the MARQ2 transit project.
Transit Improvements – Transit Stations And Park & Ride Lots
As part of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Urban Partnership Agreement, both park & ride lots and transit stations will be developed to help reduce congestion through increased transit options along I-35 and Cedar Avenue.
I-35 Park & Ride Lots
Currently, the 95th Avenue Park & Ride in Blaine is thriving and near capacity with 94% of spaces occupied in 2008. Using UPA funding, Metro Transit purchased adjacent land north of the existing 95th Avenue site and designed a 470-space ramp for the new parcel. In January 2009, the Metropolitan Council awarded a $6.5 million contract to Knutson Construction Services Inc. to build the ramp. Construction will begin in the spring of 2009 and completion is expected by the end of the year. The 95th Avenue Park & Ride provides express service to downtown Minneapolis with rush-hour buses departing every 7 to10 minutes.
In May 2008, the Metropolitan Council purchased a 1.27-acre parcel at 2750 Cleveland Avenue North in Roseville on which a 460-space, four-level parking ramp will be built for commuters. In January 2009, the Metropolitan Council award a $6.6 million contract to Adolphson & Peterson Construction to build the facility, starting in the spring of 2009. The ramp will be completed by the end of 2009 and will offer express bus service to downtown Minneapolis.
The third UPA-funded park-and-ride lot planned along I-35 is in the City of Lakeville. The 750-space, three-level facility will be located on an inactive Transportation Department weigh station on the east side of I-35 at Kenrick Avenue. In January 2009, the Metropolitan Council awarded an $6.6 million contract to Adolphson & Peterson Construction to build the facility with construction activities expected to begin in the spring of 2009 and substantial completion by the end of September 2009. Express buses from the Kenrick Avenue park-and-ride ramp will serve commuters destined for downtown Minneapolis. View park and ride: angle one, angle two.
Cedar Avenue Transitway Overview
The Cedar Avenue Corridor is a 16-mile long busway from Bloomington to Lakeville, and serves one of the fastest growing areas in the Twin Cities and in the State of Minnesota. Traffic volumes on Cedar Avenue currently exceed 100,000 vehicles a day at the Minnesota River Bridge with congestion sometimes extending a distance of seven miles. The problem will only worsen as the corridor's travel shed adds another 90,000 from 2000 to 2025.
Park & Ride Stations
Currently, the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority is working to create transit stations and/or bus stops along the Cedar Corridor at the following locations:
- Cedar Grove (along Nicols Road, south of Highway 13 and north of Diffley Road). This portion of the project will provide a total of 123 surface parking spaces with a circulator bus station including areas for customer boarding, bus parking and a bus turn around.
- Apple Valley (15450 Cedar Avenue, Apple Valley, Minnesota.) The base plan includes the following items:
- 400 surface parking spaces with appropriate footings for a future deck
- Heated and cooled passenger waiting areas and passenger walkway systems (including elevators and stairways), amenities, security systems and cameras
- Level passenger boarding platforms to include off-board fare collection, bus pullout and passing lanes at stations, and pedestrian linkages to City sidewalks; high visibility and intense lighting throughout the entire site; signage and furnishings such as trash receptacles, bike racks and seating for site; and landscaping.
Dakota County and Metro Transit are currently working on a park-and-ride station in Lakeville at the following location:
- 180th St. and Cedar Avenue - Dakota County conducted a site location study in 2008 to determine the appropriate location for the facility. This location will serve as the temporary end of the BRT corridor until demand warrants additional service to the south. The site will include up to 250 parking spaces, a waiting facility, and bus pull outs for passenger loading and turn around.
A combination of federal funds and local matching dollars will be used to buy 26 buses as part of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Urban Partnership Agreement.
Thirteen of the buses will be used for expanded express service related to UPA facilities and the rest will replace 40-foot transit buses slated for retirement in 2009.
In January 2009, the Metropolitan Council awarded a contract to Motor Coach Industries to build the over-the-road coach-style buses for the price of $505,000 per vehicle contingent upon satisfactory results of a Buy America pre-award audit.
The order also includes options for up to an additional 86 coach buses. Delivery of the 26 buses is expected by mid-August 2009.