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Start practicing safe habits around light rail

Crews are hard at work to bring you light rail transit in mid-2014. During the first half of

this year, crews will install systems to power and operate light rail cars. Later in the year,

expect to see light rail cars traveling the Green Line (Central Corridor LRT), as we test

systems to ensure they work properly and train our light rail operators.

Meanwhile, now is a good time to begin safe habits around light rail tracks and stations.

Remember to follow these rules in 2013:

 Stay off track and station platforms (until service begins)

 Obey all traffic and pedestrian signals

 Cross only at intersections and legal mid-block crosswalks

 And, when light rail testing begins – look both directions for oncoming trains 

Watch this project-produced video about safety in 2013 around LRT tracks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7VA1SkWgoI

Safety do's                                      Safety don'ts

Use sidewalks. . .                                                                               . . . not the tracks

Use mid-block crosswalks. . .                                                       . . . not areas without them

Use mid-block crossings. . .                                                             . . . not fence-hopping.

Light rail lights — The lights are coming on at the 18 Green Line light rail stations. This photo was taken early March 12 at Union Depot Station. The stations are illuminated by energy-efficient LED lights.

Green Line construction 90 percent complete

Green Line construction is 90 percent complete, and construction updates will be issued as needed in 2013 and focus on the entire alignment. Construction includes installation of traction power substations, the overhead power system, communication systems and train control system. As the systems installation continues, there may be intermittent lane closures. Watch for signage. Here is the link to the first 2013 construction update, which was issued March 8:

http://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Current-Projects/Central-Corridor/Publications-And-Resources/Construction/Central-Corridor-Construction-Update,-March-2013.aspx

Open, trusting relationship helps in developing right Green Line connections

Deep community engagement is needed to build a transit system that better serves the region. Few know that better than Karyssa Jackson (at left in the picture below) of the District Councils Collaborative (DCC) of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Jill Hentges (at right in the picture below) of Metro Transit.

Before Metro Transit began work on a comprehensive plan to restructure bus service to align with METRO Green Line operations in 2014, it accepted an offer of assistance from the DCC. Jackson implemented the Trusted Advocate Community Engagement Pilot Project based on a successful public engagement model used in several other cities. Hentges provided the connection between the Trusted Advocates’ work and Metro Transit planning. The DCC enlisted the help of nine local advocates who held engagement sessions in communities with Somali, African American and Southeast Asian members, as well as residents of Skyline Towers and Cedar-Riverside, Glendale and Frogtown. A special effort was made to reach persons with disabilities within the study area.

“The Trusted Advocates had very close conversations with members of their community who are not typically engaged in the public process,” said Jackson. “The primary message was that transit  service in the study area was good, but there was a need for more frequent trips and extending evening and weekend service,” added Hentges.

The feedback identified areas where bus connections could be improved and gaps in service could be filled. For details about the bus service plan, see http://www.metrotransit.org/centralstudy.

Through these connections, Metro Transit gained additional community trust and opened a door with new, key stakeholders.

For their work, Jackson and Hentges will receive the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award from the Minnesota Chapter of Women’s Transportation Seminar on April 10. In addition, their nomination advances on to a national competition.

Washington Avenue Bridge retrofit for LRT line wins award

Redesigning the iconic Washington Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis to carry light rail trains earned a coveted engineering award for the Metropolitan Council and AECOM.

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Minnesota awarded the Council and AECOM a 2013 Engineering Excellence Grand Award for retrofitting the Washington Avenue Bridge for the Green Line (Central Corridor), which is 90 percent complete and scheduled to open in mid-2014. AECOM, a leading provider of engineering, design and other related services, is also working on the Southwest LRT Project (Green Line extension), conducting preliminary engineering on the line’s western portion in Eden Prairie and Minnetonka, where several complex bridges are proposed.

The double-decker Washington Avenue Bridge was built in 1965 over a 1,131-foot gorge above the Mississippi.

“The project criteria itself was a challenge: provide for an additional 75 years of service life and meet current design specifications for the new and existing structural members,” according to AECOM.

The bridge consisted of two independent structures for eastbound and westbound traffic. The rehabilitation included the innovative design and construction of four new truss girders interlaced among the steel framing of the existing structure. Prior to construction, the bridge carried pedestrian traffic on the upper deck and four lanes of vehicular traffic on the lower deck. The retrofitted bridge has double tracks in the middle of the lower deck, with one lane each way for vehicular traffic. The upper deck retained pedestrian traffic.

“The AECOM design team, in collaboration with project partners and technical staff from the Metropolitan Council, Hennepin County and Minnesota Department of Transportation, established a retrofit and rehabilitation scheme that would preserve and strengthen the iconic structure,” AECOM said.

The innovative retrofit design included the installation of two new built-up trusses for each independent structure interlaced with the existing superstructure cross section and a new full-width composite deck. The trusses effectively converted the existing girder system into a structurally redundant eight girder and truss composite superstructure. The retrofit also included the addition of infill columns at each pier to transfer the new truss girder loads to the bridge foundations. The entire retrofit was constructed while maintaining pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The result of their innovative designs was the ability to preserve the existing bridge rather than replace the structure, resulting in cost savings to the project estimated at $80 million to $100 million and a minimum of two years in project schedule in comparison to a full bridge replacement.

Ames-McCrossan Joint Venture, the construction contractor for the Minneapolis portion of the Green Line, retrofitted the bridge for an estimated $21 million, $2 million under budget, and finished two months ahead of schedule in mid-June 2012.

GO GLOBAL. GO LOCAL - Here is the latest OnTheGreenLine billboard at Transfer Road - Cleveland Avenue and University Avenue.

Green Line businesses now featured in videos

The Metropolitan Council’s OnTheGreenLine marketing campaign has expanded to video.

Mod & Co., the company hired for the $1.2 million marketing campaign of Green Line businesses, has produced and posted videos on YouTube to promote businesses.  See the link at: http://www.youtube.com/onthegreenline

Mod & Co.’s earlier marketing efforts included billboards like the one pictured above at Transfer Road/Cleveland Avenue and University Avenue as well as advertisements on the sides of Metro Transit buses and an online and print business guide.

Revamped website for Green Line

The next time you seek information on the Green Line using the Metropolitan Council’s website, you will notice some changes. The Met Council has revamped its website with a focus on making it easier to navigate. A few pages you might want to bookmark:

The URL has not changed. It’s still www.centralcorridor.org

Media and community contact information is found here:

http://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Current-Projects/Central-Corridor/Contact-Us-(CCLRT).aspx

When looking for answers related to the project, this is a good place to start:

http://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Current-Projects/Central-Corridor/Project-Facts.aspx

For information on each of the 18 stations, including new photos, check:

http://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Current-Projects/Central-Corridor/Stations.aspx

You’ll find news releases on this page:

http://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Current-Projects/Central-Corridor/News.aspx

And newsletters at: http://metrocouncil.org/Transportation/Projects/Current-Projects/Central-Corridor/Making-Tracks.aspx

Construction updates —

Weekly construction updates ceased with the end of heavy construction in late 2012. Updates will be issued monthly or as often as warranted in 2013. To see updates, please visit the www.centralcorridor.org homepage and click on News. 

24-hour construction hotline - 651-602-1404.

Follow us at: http://www.twitter.com/cclrt

For general questions or comments - Call 651-602-1645 or email centralcorridor@metc.state.mn.us

Sign up for construction updates, news releases and Making Tracks newsletter by scrolling to the bottom left of the homepage and entering your email address in the white ENewsletter Sign Up box.

About the project:  

The Green Line (Central Corridor Light Rail Transit Project) will link downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis along Washington and University avenues via the state Capitol and the University of Minnesota. Construction began in late summer 2010 on the planned 11-mile Central Corridor line, and service will begin in 2014. The line will connect with the Hiawatha LRT line at the Metrodome station in Minneapolis and the Northstar commuter rail line at the Target Field Station. The Metropolitan Council is the grantee of federal funds. The regional government agency is charged with building the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Central Corridor Management Committee, which includes commissioners from Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, provides advice and oversight. Funding is provided by the Federal Transit Administration, Counties Transit Improvement Board, state of Minnesota, Ramsey and Hennepin counties' regional railroad authorities, city of St. Paul, Metropolitan Council and the Central Corridor Funders' Collaborative. The Central Corridor LRT Project Website is  www.centralcorridor.org.