The METRO Gold Line is an under construction bus rapid transit line in Minnesota. The line will travel from its western terminus in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota to Woodbury, Minnesota. The 10-mile line runs largely along I-94 in bus-only lanes with stops at designated stations. The Gold Line will be the first bus rapid transit project in Minnesota that operates primarily in bus lanes. The project was initially called the Gateway Corridor before being named a color to match the rest of the Metro system operated by Metro Transit.
Vehicles on the route will be a mix of diesel and electric buses. Buses will arrive approximately every 10-15 minutes. Four park-and-rides are being constructed at stations along the route. [4] Construction on the line began in 2022. The project is expected to open on March 22, 2025, and is planned to be extended further west to Downtown Minneapolis in 2027.
Originally, the Gateway Corridor was planned to follow Interstate 94 from the St. Croix River Bridge in Wisconsin to Saint Paul and is one of the most heavily used and traveled corridors in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. As a result of recent population growth, the Gateway Corridor today moves more than 150,000 vehicles per day. In 2009, a commission was created to study and plan alternative transportation options in the corridor.
In August 2010, the Gateway Corridor Commission and its consultant team initiated a Transit Alternatives Analysis Study (AA), looking at the corridor from the Twin Cities to Eau Claire, Wisconsin. This is the first step in determining the best mode (i.e. light rail, commuter rail or bus rapid transit); estimated ridership, possible routes and stops, and projected costs to build, operate and maintain. In looking at these four main areas, the study helped to address the issues of congestion, potential economic development/revitalization and environmental and social impacts.
The AA Study was expected to take approximately 18 months to complete and is expected to be finished by spring 2012. Final decisions regarding the mode of transit and route will be determined by the Metropolitan Council and Ramsey and Washington County Regional Railroad Authorities. These decisions will help move this from a planning effort into a real, tangible project.
The Gateway Corridor Commission dropped the commuter rail option, leaving only possible bus rapid transit or light rail routes. All of the bus rapid transit route options would run on Interstate 94. [5]
The project was originally expected to end in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. [6] Lake Elmo is known for having a lower density of housing than other suburbs in the area and local city council members had considered adding density to the city near I-94 and the Gold Line in order to preserve a more rural character elsewhere in the city. [7] Years earlier, the city tusseled with the Metropolitan Council over the Metropolitan Council's directive that Lake Elmo increase density within the city. [8] The Lake Elmo city council voted unanimously to support the project in 2014 but by 2016 the city council with several newly elected members voted against allowing the project to end within the city. [7]
The project also faced opposition from residents in Oakdale, Minnesota and a non-profit formed to fight the project called Citizens for Smart Transit. [9]
Washington County spent some money collected through the Counties Transit Improvement Board on planning for the Gold Line. [10] Money from the Counties Transit Improvement Board had been mostly spent on projects in the western metropolitan area which led Gold Line supporters to argue that more transit funding should be spent in the east metro including on projects like the Gold Line. [9]
The proposed bus rapid transit line would go from downtown Saint Paul to Woodbury and was proposed to be built by 2024. The project was renamed from the Gateway Corridor to the METRO Gold Line. [11] The line would cost $485 million in 2021 dollars with 45% of that coming from federal sources. The Gateway Corridor Commission estimates 8,600 weekday riders by 2040. [12] The Metropolitan Council approved the locally preferred alternative in December 2016. The project began New Starts Project Development in January 2018. After passing the National Environmental Policy Act with a Finding Of No Significant Impact from the FTA in January 2020, the Metropolitan Council declared no additional environmental review was needed for the project in March 2020. [3] [13]
The project was given a "medium-high" rating by the Federal Transit Administration in March 2021. The rating allows the project to continue into the engineering phase of the FTA's New Starts program. [3] [14] The "medium-high" rating was an improvement over the "medium-low" rating that the project received in January 2020. By adding 350 park-and-ride spaces, ridership projections increased which improved the project's rating. [15] Utility work for the project could start as soon as the summer of 2021. [13]
With 3 years needed until service could start, developments worth $200-290 million were proposed along the line by April 2021. [16]
Buses would run 90% of the time on new roads that run next to existing roads and highways. Service would be every 10 minutes during peak times and 20 - 30 during other times. Travel times from end to end for the 12 stations would take at least 34 minutes. [17] Buses will operate in bus only lanes for 70% of the 10 mile long project. Construction was officially kicked off on October 19, 2022. Construction is expected to be completed and service begin in 2025. [18]
Five of seventeen buses used on the route are expected to be 60-foot articulated electric buses. [19] Electric buses in the Twin Cities were first used on the Metro C Line in 2019. [20] [21] The buses and chargers will be purchased from New Flyer for around $10.8 million. [22] The electric buses are expected to operate 9 trips a day while the diesel buses will operate 38 trips a day. [19]
Construction officially began in October 2022. [23] The project is expected to cost $505 million. [24] In April 2023, $238 million from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was secured. An additional $120 million from Ramsey County and Washington County will also fund the project. [25] Major construction was expected to take place during the 2023 and 2024 construction seasons with an official opening expected in 2025. [26] Construction on the East Side of Saint Paul concerned local business owners who experienced reduced access to their businesses and reduced customer traffic. [27]
A new bridge over Interstate 94 opened in December 2023 at a cost of $9 million. $7.5 million of the cost was paid for by the federal government. The Bielenberg Bridge connects Helmo Ave in Oakdale and Bielenberg Drive in Woodbury. The bridge carries general traffic but will also have dedicated bus lanes for the Gold Line. [28] [29] [30]
In October 2024, Metro Transit announced that it would extend the Gold Line west from St. Paul to Downtown Minneapolis in 2027. The extension would replace existing, weekday-only express buses on I-94 between the two cities, which are also served by the Green Line, a slower light rail line. The extension is expected to cost $15 million to $20 million and would be funded in the existing project budget. [31]
Existing BRT stations on 7th and 8th Street in downtown Minneapolis will be used and the route will end at Royalston Avenue/Farmers Market on the Green Line extension. [32] Only two additional stations will need to be constructed. One station will be constructed on Snelling Avenue, while the other will be near U.S. Bank Stadium. [33] Creation of the Gold Line extension will not determine the final outcome of MnDOT's Rethinking I-94 project, where outcomes range from rebuilding the interstate to creating an at-grade roadway. [34] [35]
Route 94 takes between 20 to 25 minutes to travel between downtowns while the Green Line takes 40 to 45 minutes. [33] In 2024, Route 94 only ran every 20 minutes during rush hour with reduced frequency at other times, while the Gold Line extension will run every 10-15 minutes. [36] Route 94 carried around 800 riders per weekday in 2024. [37]
The Metro Blue Line is a 12-mile (19.3 km) light rail line in Hennepin County, Minnesota, that is part of the Metro network. It travels from downtown Minneapolis to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and the southern suburb of Bloomington. Formerly the Hiawatha Line prior to May 2013, the line was originally named after the Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha passenger train and Hiawatha Avenue, reusing infrastructure from the former and running parallel to the latter for a portion of the route. The line opened June 26, 2004, and was the first light rail service in Minnesota. An extension, Bottineau LRT, is planned to open in 2028.
The Northstar Line is a commuter rail route in the US state of Minnesota. Northstar runs 40 miles (64 km) from Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis at Target Field using existing track and right-of-way owned by the BNSF Railway. Passenger service began on November 16, 2009. The rail line serves part of the Northstar Corridor between Minneapolis and St. Cloud. Planning for the line began in 1997 when the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) was formed. The corridor is also served by Interstate 94 and U.S. Highway 10. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 142,200, or about 400 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
Metro Transit is the primary public transportation operator in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest operator in the state. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 44,977,200, or about 144,300 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.
The Metro Green Line is an 11-mile (18 km) light rail line that connects the central business districts of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota as well as the University of Minnesota. An extension is under construction that will extend the line to the southwest connecting St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie. The line follows the path of former Metro Transit bus route 16 along University Avenue and Washington Avenue. It is the second light-rail line in the region, after the Blue Line, which opened in 2004 and connects Minneapolis with the southern suburb of Bloomington.
Lake Street is a major east-west thoroughfare between 29th and 31st streets in Minneapolis, Minnesota United States. From its western most end at the city's limits, Lake Street reaches the Chain of Lakes, passing over a small channel linking Bde Maka Ska and Lake of the Isles, and at its eastern most end it reaches the Mississippi River. In May 2020, the Lake Street corridor suffered extensive damage during local unrest following the murder of George Floyd. In August of the same year, city officials designated East Lake Street as one of seven cultural districts to promote racial equity, preserve cultural identity, and promote economic growth.
The Southwest LRT is an under–construction 14.5-mile (23.3 km) light rail transit corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota, with service between Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. The estimated one-way travel time from Southwest Station in Eden Prairie to Target Field Station in Minneapolis is 32 minutes. The Southwest LRT will extend through St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Minnetonka along the route. Major locations on the line will include Bde Maka Ska, Cedar Lake, the Walker Art Center, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.
Snelling Avenue station is a light rail station along the Metro Green Line in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is located along University Avenue on either side of the intersection with Snelling Avenue. The station has split side platforms, with the westbound platform on the north side of the tracks west of Snelling and the eastbound platform on the south side of the tracks east of the intersection.
Stadium Village station is a light rail station on the Green Line on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. Located in the Stadium Village area, it lies east of 23rd Avenue Southeast between University Avenue and 4th Street, across the road from Huntington Bank Stadium. East of the station, the rail line parallels the U of M Transitway until 29th Street SE, where it turns to enter Prospect Park station.
The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, also known by the acronym MVTA, is a public transportation agency that serves seven communities in the southern portion of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The agency provides fixed-route and demand-responsive transit within the service area of the communities and to select destinations in the region.
The Metro Purple Line, formerly known as the Rush Line Corridor, is a proposed bus rapid transit service that would run from Union Depot in downtown Saint Paul to the northeastern suburbs of Saint Paul. Along the corridor's 21 proposed stations there are 106,000 jobs within a 10-minute walk. The project is currently in an environmental analysis phase with further development, engineering, and construction expected to take at least six more years. Service would run 7-days a week with 10-minute headways in peak periods and 15-minute service at most other times. The corridor was named the Rush Line because it was originally planned to end in Rush City, Minnesota. After using the color purple since 2017, the route was officially named the Purple Line and became part of the Metro network on July 14, 2021.
The Metro Red Line is a bus rapid transit line between the Twin Cities suburbs of Bloomington, Minnesota and Apple Valley, Minnesota. The Red Line travels primarily on Minnesota State Highway 77 and Cedar Avenue from the Apple Valley station in Apple Valley, north through Eagan, Minnesota, to the Mall of America station in Bloomington where it connects to the Metro Blue Line. The line has bus rapid transit elements including bus-only lanes, specially branded vehicles, transit signal priority, and dedicated stations.
The Riverview Corridor is a transit corridor connecting Downtown Saint Paul and the Mall of America in Bloomington via the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. The corridor serves an area from the Saint Paul Union Depot to the Mall via a route along West 7th Street, which runs southwest from Downtown Saint Paul. The corridor creates a triangle connecting opposite ends of the Blue Line and Green Line.
The Metro Orange Line is a bus rapid transit line in the Twin Cities, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The line operates primarily along Interstate 35W from downtown Minneapolis through Richfield and Bloomington before terminating in Burnsville, Minnesota. The Orange Line provides access to 198,000 jobs with roughly a quarter of them outside downtown Minneapolis. The route serves a mix of stations located in the center of the highway, stations near highway exits, and on-street stations. The line has features typical of bus rapid transit systems with off-board fare payment, articulated buses with extra doors, stations with improved passenger amenities, and transit-only bus lanes on portions of the route.
Metro is a transit network in Minnesota serving the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It also provides service to some suburban areas. As of 2022, the system consists of two light rail lines and five bus rapid transit (BRT) lines all of which are operated by the local public transit company: Metro Transit. The five lines connect Downtown Minneapolis and St Paul with Bloomington, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, Roseville, Richfield, Burnsville and Brooklyn Center.
The Metro A Line is a bus rapid transit line in the Twin Cities, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The A Line operates primarily along the Snelling Avenue corridor and travels through the cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Falcon Heights, and Roseville. From the Blue Line in Minneapolis, the line travels past Minnehaha Park, through the Highland Village commercial area, past Macalester College, and connects to the Green Line near Allianz Field. The line continues through Saint Paul, past Hamline University, before traveling through Falcon Heights and Roseville, where the line passes the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Har Mar Mall, and terminates at Rosedale Center.
The Metro C Line is a bus rapid transit line in Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The line is part of Metro Transit's Metro network of light rail and bus rapid transit lines. The route operates from the Brooklyn Center Transit Center along Penn Avenue and Olson Memorial Highway, terminating in downtown Minneapolis. The route is analogous to the existing Route 19 and is projected to increase ridership on this corridor from 7,000 to 9,000 by 2030. Eventually, part of its route will shift south to Glenwood Avenue from Olson Memorial Highway.
The Metro D Line is a bus rapid transit line in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. The 18.5-mile (29.8 km) route primarily operates on Fremont and Chicago Avenues from Brooklyn Center through Minneapolis to the Mall of America in Bloomington. As part of BRT service, the D Line features "train-like amenities" including improved station facilities, off-board fare payment, modern vehicles, fewer stops, and higher frequency. The current alignment would substantially replace the existing Route 5, the highest ridership bus route in Minnesota.
The Metro B Line is an under construction bus rapid transit route in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The route will operate mostly on Lake Street in Minneapolis before crossing the Mississippi River into St. Paul and operating mostly on Selby Avenue and ending in downtown St. Paul. The route was identified in Metro Transit's 2014 Arterial Transitway Corridors Study as one of eleven local routes to be upgraded to bus rapid transit. The route will have "train-like" features to speed up service, such as signal priority, all-door boarding, further stop spacing, and specialized vehicles. Planning and design was completed in 2021, with construction beginning in May 2023. The line will join a number of Metro Transit's future Metro system lines, as well as the currently operating A Line, C Line, and D Line. Full funding for the line was secured in October 2020 with a final $35 million from the state of Minnesota.
The Metro E Line is a planned bus rapid transit route in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Edina. The route will operate from Southdale Center Transit Center in Edina, Minnesota to Westgate station in Saint Paul. Running mostly on France Avenue, Hennepin Avenue, and University Avenue, the line will serve major destinations such as Southdale Center, Fairview Hospital, 50th & France, Linden Hills, Uptown, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Downtown Minneapolis, Dinkytown, the University of Minnesota, and Prospect Park. The route will have "train-like" features to speed up service and improve reliability, such as signal priority, bus lanes, all-door boarding, further stop spacing, and specialized vehicles. In 2019 planning and design were underway, with construction slated for 2023 and operations beginning a year later but that timeline has been moved back. The E Line would largely replace Route 6 which carries 9,000 trips each weekday. The project was fully funded with $60 million by the state of Minnesota in 2021 and is expected to open in 2025.