St. Paul, MN—METRO Transit held a groundbreaking ceremony today for the METRO Orange Bus Rapid Transit Line. Representative Jon Koznick, R-Lakeville, attended the ceremony and was chief author of legislation in 2017 that appropriated up to $12.1 million to fund the Metro Orange Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line between Minneapolis and Lakeville.
“As a longtime supporter of Bus Rapid Transit I am pleased to see the construction of the Orange Line project officially begin,” said Rep. Koznick. “The Orange Line will be an important complement to our current transportation system and help relieve congestion throughout the entire I-35 corridor from downtown Minneapolis to Lakeville and beyond. I am proud to have authored legislation that allocated the state funds needed to ensure this project was fully funded and look forward to its completion.”
The METRO Orange Line is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line that connects Minneapolis, Richfield, Bloomington and Burnsville with fast, frequent and reliable all-day service along I-35W. In June 2019, the Federal Transit Administration released a $74.1 million grant meaning that all funding is in-hand to complete construction of the $150.7 million project. Components of the Orange Line are under construction with the 35W and I-94 project. Construction of the Knox Ave Transitway crossing under I-494 will begin this summer.
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