 Blue Line Extension remains competitive for federal funding
New estimates on cost and ridership are confirming that the METRO Blue Line Extension is competitive to receive federal funding that could pay a significant portion of the project’s cost.
Recently completed computer modeling shows projected ridership of up to 13,000 daily trips from Target Field to Brooklyn Park, up from 11,500. However, when it opens for service, the Blue Line Extension will be part of the complete METRO Blue Line, running from the Mall of America to Brooklyn Park. Total ridership will climb to almost 30,000 daily trips. This is the first modeling that uses only post-COVID data.
The estimated cost of the project is holding steady at a projected $3.2 billion. This figure is subject to change as work on the project scope, design, and engineering work progresses.
This year, the Blue Line Extension project office is gathering vital input and feedback needed to build the best transit possible for the communities it will serve. Following are two places you can participate in the discussion and planning around the proposed Blue Line Extension.
Comment on the Blue Line Extension's impact
The project is taking public comment on the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS). These comments help inform how the project will mitigate possible impacts of the project, as well as maximizing its benefits to riders. To get the best results, project staff need to draw on the lived experience of the people who live, work, and do business in the corridor.
The comment period will now end August 6, 2024. This deadline allows for more feedback to be gathered from community members during National Night Out events across the region.
Join project staff to learn more about the SDEIS and ways to provide comments at upcoming office hours and the public hearings. If you need assistance to participate in public meetings or have general accessibility inquiries, please contact Kaja Vang at Kaja.Vang@metrotransit.org. Requests for special assistance should be made a minimum of seven business days in advance of the scheduled meeting. Because a quorum of the Metropolitan Council may attend these public hearings, but will not be transacting business, this hearing is publicly noticed as a special meeting of the Council’s Committee of the Whole.
SDEIS Public Hearings
Tuesday, July 16, 5 – 7 p.m.
NorthPoint Conference Center
1256 Penn Ave. N., Suite 5200
Minneapolis, MN 55411
(Free parking is available in the ramp)
Tuesday, July 23, 10 a.m. – noon
Brooklyn Park Library, Mississippi River Room
8500 West Broadway Avenue
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
Please arrive within the time frames provided to give a public testimony. SDEIS public hearings will be recorded. Those providing verbal comments will be audio and video recorded.
Building a vision for the Blue Line Extension
You can help set goals and build a vision for the Blue Line Extension by participating in this series of meetings. The DREAMNorth Engagement series will hold discussions on and offer a tour of the Blue Line Extension project. The goal is to engage people from all walks of life to build a collaborative vision of how this once-in-a-lifetime investment can build opportunity and empowerment.
To participate, please RSVP Brett1mn@gmail.com or arobbins@theanikafoundation.org.
If you have any questions or need more information, please don't hesitate call Brett at 612.267.2933
DREAM Session #1
Thursday, July 25, 5 – 8 p.m.
Urban Research & Outreach Center
2001 Plymouth Ave. N.
Minneapolis, MN 55411
DREAM Bus Tour
Saturday, July 27, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Urban Research & Outreach Center
2001 Plymouth Ave. N.
Minneapolis, MN 55411
DREAM Session #2
Thursday, August 8, 5 – 8 p.m.
Urban Research & Outreach Center
2001 Plymouth Ave. N.
Minneapolis, MN 55411
DREAM Session #3
Saturday, August 10, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Urban Research & Outreach Center
2001 Plymouth Ave. N.
Minneapolis, MN 55411
This summer, the Blue Line Extension project will host two summer interns from Juxtaposition Arts (JXTA). JXTA is one of several Blue Line Extension project partners that provide community engagement support along the corridor. They are a teen-staffed art and design center, gallery retail shop, and artists’ studio space in North Minneapolis. Their youth apprenticeship program, JXTA Environmental Design Lab, trains and employs youth and young adults in real-time projects with clients, customers, and for the JXTA campus. Project staff look forward to collaborating with JXTA interns this summer.
Cece Zarzar
Cece is a student at Minneapolis College, pursuing an associate’s degree in architectural technology. As an apprentice at Juxtaposition Arts from July 2023 to June 2024, she spearheaded various community engagement and art initiatives. Cece's career goals center on building genuine connections within the artistic infrastructure industry, aiming to rewrite the narrative for underprivileged communities by creating systems designed by and for them.
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Jonathan Cruz Estrada
Jonathan, currently in his 5th year at Dunwoody in the Architecture program, graduates May 2025 with a bachelor’s degree. His goals for this internship are to increase his design experience and find employment that utilizes his skillset with the ultimate goal of becoming a licensed architect.
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Join Staff at Upcoming Project Meetings and Events
Health on the Go
Tuesday, July 23, 3 – 6 p.m.
Huntington Place Apartments
5805 73rd Ave. N.
Brooklyn Park, MN 55429
The Black Market Events: July Night Market
Friday, July 26, 6 – 9 p.m.
729 Broadway Ave. N.
Minneapolis, MN 55411
Crystal Frolics
Saturday, July 27, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Becker Park
5530 Douglas Dr. N.
Crystal, MN 55429
Lakeview Terrace Farmer’s Market
Saturday, August 17, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
3769 Crystal Lake Blvd.
Robbinsdale, MN 55422
As design work continues for the Blue Line Extension Project, you may see project staff in your neighborhood throughout the corridor doing fieldwork over the next couple months. Some of this work includes identifying where underground utilities are located and performing geotechnical borings to collect soil samples to understand existing conditions. This may require temporary lane closures for a short duration during non-rush-hour times.
This week
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Brooklyn Park – Continue completion of retaining wall borings near Bass Lake Road and Bottineau Blvd. Once those borings are complete, they will be moving onto roadway borings along Bass Lake Road and Adair Ave N.
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Minneapolis – Drilling of track and roadway borings along Washington Ave and 10th Ave.
Week of July 15
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Brooklyn Park – Completion remaining borings in the Hennepin County Right of Way along CSAH 81.
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Minneapolis – Drilling of track and roadway borings along CSAH 81 and 21st Ave.
Week of July 22
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Brooklyn Park – Completion of remaining borings in the Hennepin County right of way along CSAH 81.
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Minneapolis – Drilling of track and roadway borings along CSAH 81 and 21st Ave.
Week of July 29
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Minneapolis – Drilling of track and roadway borings along CSAH 81 and 21st Ave.
Week of August 8
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Minneapolis – Drilling of borings in the Downtown Minneapolis area.
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