Several of Minnesota’s metro-area transportation projects will be included with the state’s list of projects recommended for federal funding after the Metropolitan Council signed off Sept. 25.
The Transportation Improvement Program, the region’s $3.5 billion package of projects, is a collection of hundreds of local highway, transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects in the queue for federal consideration.
Among the new projects added this year are 57 local projects recommended for $200 million in federal funding through a funding review process known as the Regional Solicitation.
Projects selected for the 2018 Regional Solicitation will be constructed in 40 different cities and townships throughout the region in all seven counties.
Among them:
· A new I-94 bridge in Washington County with METRO Gold Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lanes;
· Hennepin Avenue reconstruction in Minneapolis;
· Four projects to improve customer boarding for three BRT lines in Bloomington, Richfield, Minneapolis and Saint Paul;
· Safety improvements for students crossing Galaxie Avenue to Apple Valley’s Greenleaf Elementary School;
· Electric vehicles and charging stations near transit stops in Minneapolis and Saint Paul;
· Expanded Minnesota Valley Transit Authority bus service in Burnsville will connect to the planned METRO Orange Line; and
· A new Minnesota Highway 13 roadway grade separation into Scott County’s Ports of Savage and adjoining industrial areas.
“These projects reflect local government transportation priorities,” said Nick Thompson, the council’s director of metropolitan transportation services. “They are investments that enhance all modes of transportation in the region and help to ensure mobility and therefore prosperity in our growing region.”
Next, the projects are included in the State Transportation Investment Program and forwarded to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
