Met Council: Rice Street express bus, road redo among 91 transportation projects to receive federal funding boost

Frederick Melo, Pioneer Press
·9 min read

Plans to reconstruct a two-mile stretch of Rice Street in St. Paul are poised to receive a major cash infusion. So is a proposed express bus from Burnsville to Rice Street and University Avenue, three legs of downtown St. Paul’s Capital City Bikeway, an electric car-sharing pilot project that would serve five suburbs and a number of other road and transit initiatives in the metro area.

The 17-member Metropolitan Council, the metro area’s regional planning agency, approved the $350 million regional solicitation earlier this month, based on recommendations from its 34-member Transportation Advisory Board and the Met Council’s Transportation Committee.

Bolstered by a major increase in funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Jobs Act, the number of recipients this year nearly doubled from 56 in 2020 to 91 new projects.

In most cases, the funding represents the lion’s share of the overall project cost, which requires a local match from the recipient city or county.

Projects to begin between 2023 and 2027

Most projects are expected to begin construction between 2023 and 2027.

“This is a major investment in our region, almost every person in the Twin Cities will benefit from the projects that are moving forward,” said Chai Lee, one of two board members who represent St. Paul on the Met Council. “If you just look at this from the standpoint of safety, this plan will upgrade 480 intersections, and reduce the number of crashes by 680.”

Lee added: “You don’t get results like that without sound input from citizens, locally elected officials and business leaders who understand the transportation needs of their communities.”

The projects are based in 55 of the seven-county metro area’s 189 cities. All 10 requests for “Safe Routes to School” projects were funded, several of them through the Carbon Reduction Program included in the federal Jobs Act.

Here’s a list of east metro projects:

St. Paul

Ramsey County will receive $7 million toward the reconstruction of a two-mile segment of Rice Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to Wheelock Parkway, including conversion of Rice Street from four lanes to three lanes with a center turn lane, as well as a new shared use pedestrian/bicycle path. Total project cost: $36.7 million.

St. Paul will receive $5.23 million to reconstruct Minnehaha Avenue from Payne Avenue to East Seventh Street, changing the four-lane road to three lanes with on-road bike lanes. Total project cost: $6.53 million.

St. Paul also will receive $2.3 million to replace or install new traffic signals, fiber-optics and traffic cameras along Maryland Avenue between Dale Street and White Bear Avenue. Total project cost: $2.9 million.

With an eye toward pedestrian safety, St. Paul will receive $1.2 million to reconfigure non-signalized intersections along Payne Avenue from Phalen Boulevard to Maryland Avenue. Improvements will include new medians or sidewalk extensions. Total project cost: $1.5 million.

Chelsea Heights Elementary School’s Safe Routes to School plan, drawn up in 2017, would be funded with $1 million in city-driven pedestrian improvements at six intersections along Hamline and Hoyt avenues, including curb extensions or median islands and pedestrian ramps. Total project cost: $1.44 million.

St. Paul will receive $920,000 to install approximately 600 feet of sidewalk along the north side of Arlington Avenue between Westminster and Arkwright streets, and 1,500 feet of sidewalk along the south side of Arlington Avenue from the Gateway State Trail to Westminster Street, as well as from Desoto to Edgerton streets. Total project cost: $1.15 million.

Bikes and trails

The third phase of St. Paul’s downtown Capital City Bikeway network will receive a $5.5 million boost to extend the bikeway along Kellogg Boulevard. Total project cost: $9.44 million.

Another leg of St. Paul’s Capital City Bikeway along St. Peter Street will receive $5.5 million. Total project cost: $8.4 million.

St. Paul will receive $5.34 million to reconstruct Wabasha Street from Seventh to 11th streets, including new street lights and a landscaped boulevard between the sidewalk and Capital City Bikeway. Total project cost: $6.72 million.

The 13-mile Bruce Vento Regional Trail stretches from downtown St. Paul to White Bear Lake, but its southern six miles have yet to be completed. Ramsey County will receive $4 million to extend the trail 2.7 miles from Buerkle Road to the intersection of Hoffman Road/U.S. 61 in White Bear Lake. The project will connect the cities of Gem Lake, White Bear Lake, White Bear Township and Vadnais Heights. Total project cost: $7 million.

St. Paul will receive $5.5 million toward the first phase of Point Douglas Regional Trail construction between Newport and Indian Mounds Regional Park in St. Paul. Total project cost: $6.88 million.

Ramsey County will receive $558,000 to construct a separated bicycle and pedestrian trail along Koehler Road from Edgerton Street to Centerville Road in Vadnais Heights, a Safe Routes to School project for Vadnais Heights Elementary School. Total project cost: $697,000.

The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota will receive $425,000 to expand its “Learn to Ride” program for new bicycle riders in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods in St. Paul and Minneapolis. The Alliance will coordinate four fleets of 10 electric bicycles at a variety of businesses hosting classes in bike riding and bike maintenance. Total project cost: $531,000.

Inver Grove Heights will receive $419,000 to complete Babcock Trail, an 8-foot-wide multi-use trail with curb ramps, crosswalk improvements, retaining walls and a 5-foot vegetative buffer separating trail users from roadway traffic. Total project cost: $524,000.

Car-sharing

St. Paul’s EV Spot initiative will receive $1.44 million to expand the nation’s largest publicly-owned electric vehicle car-sharing and car-charging network along the future Gold Line bus corridor, which will travel through St. Paul’s East Side. Total project cost: $1.82 million.

The nonprofit HourCar car-sharing network will receive $499,000 to install electric car-sharing stations at 25 multi-family apartment complexes throughout five cities in Hennepin County. Total project cost: $624,000.

Regional bus, light-rail transit

Metro Transit will receive $25 million toward a future arterial bus rapid transit project. The public transit authority has yet to determine which of multiple potential routes will receive the funding. Total project cost: To be determined.

The Metro Green Line light-rail extension from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie will receive $7 million. Total project cost: $133 million.

Metro Transit will receive $6.72 million to redraw a branch of the Route 3 bus, which travels from downtown Minneapolis, through the University of Minnesota campus and into downtown St. Paul. The future Route 3A corridor will be extended east at Rice Street to operate along Maryland Avenue, White Bear Avenue, Third Street and Ruth Street, connecting to the Sun Ray Transit Center and the future Gold Line. Total project cost: $8.4 million.

The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority will receive $4 million toward the second phase of a camera security and modernization project at the Apple Valley Transit Station. Total project cost: $5 million.

The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority will receive $2.8 million toward the “Rice and University Connector,” a new express bus connecting Burnsville, Eagan and St. Paul, with a terminus at Rice Street and University Avenue. Total project cost: $3.5 million.

The Metropolitan Council will receive $733,000 toward an inventory of travel behavior. Total project cost: $2.2 million.

With the goal of creating dedicated spaces at transit centers for bikes, e-scooters, wayfinding signage, touch screens and other “last mile” connections, Metro Transit will receive $1.6 million toward regional mobility hubs at the Sun Ray Transit Center in St. Paul, the Maplewood Mall Transit Center and five additional locations in Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center. Total project cost: $2 million.

Metro Transit will receive $500,000 to support a residential transit pass program delivered through housing complexes in Ramsey and Hennepin counties. Total project cost: $625,000.

The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority will receive $500,000 toward technology and Americans with Disabilities Act enhancements in seven cities in Scott and Dakota counties. Total project cost: $625,000.

Metro Transit will receive $400,000 to improve wayfinding signage at bus and light-rail stations in five cities throughout Ramsey and Hennepin counties, including St. Paul and Minneapolis. Total project cost: $500,000.

The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority will receive $228,000 to install a transit connection specialist serving six suburbs across Scott and Dakota counties. Total project cost: $285,000.

Ramsey County

Ramsey County will receive $10 million to reconstruct the interchange along Interstate 35E and County Road J with new exit and entrance ramps. Three new roundabouts on County Road J will serve the cities of North Oaks, Lino Lakes and White Bear Township. Total project cost: $14.54 million.

Anoka County will receive $3.23 million to redesign the intersection of Hodgson Road and Ash Street with a roundabout connecting Lino Lakes to Shoreview in Ramsey County. Total project cost: $4 million.

Ramsey County will receive $1.93 million to replace the Old Highway 8 bridge in New Brighton. The project will include a center left-turn lane, sidewalks and bike lanes. Total project cost: $2.42 million.

Washington County

Washington County will receive $7 million toward an Interstate 494 park-and-ride structure along the future Gold Line in Woodbury. Total project cost: $21.68 million.

The county will receive $7 million toward the reconstruction of Century Avenue in White Bear Lake and Mahtomedi. Total project cost: $9 million.

Washington County will receive $400,000 toward sidewalks and a pedestrian island along County Road 5/Stillwater Boulevard between Owens Street and Pine Tree Trail in Stillwater. Total project cost: $500,000.

Dakota County

Burnsville will receive $10 million to grade separate the intersection of Minnesota 13 and Nicollet Avenue, the northern entrance to the Burnsville Heart of the City district, a transit-oriented retail and housing destination. Total project cost: $32.19 million.

Dakota County will receive $6.54 million for a partial reconstruction of County Road 42 in Apple Valley from Redwood Drive to 147th Street. Total project cost: $8.18 million.

Dakota County also will receive $4.74 million to reconstruct Lone Oak Road in Eagan. Total project cost: $5.94 million.

And, Dakota County will receive $2 million to install a Cedar Avenue pedestrian bridge at 140th Street in Apple Valley, replacing a crosswalk and improving access to a Metro Red Line bus station. Total project cost: $2.87 million.

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