Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Line
Encyclopedia
The Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transitway (Red Line) is a 16 mile corridor bus right-of-way line currently going under construction, with a grand opening date set for September 24, 2012. The future busway is planned to run directly on side-roaded bus lanes of Cedar Avenue (Minnesota State Highway 77
/County Road 23) between the Mall of America
in Bloomington, Minnesota
and 215th Street in Lakeville, Minnesota
, and will connect with the Blue Line
. Construction officially started as of April 11, 2011.
. Traffic congestion is a commonplace along much of the corridor as far south as County Road 42
. The Metropolitan Council
, county, and local officials are promoting the transitway as a means to improve mobility in the corridor.
The Red Line will serve the Mall of America in Bloomington to 215th Street in Lakeville, serving some of the fastest growing areas in the Metropolitan Area and in the State of Minnesota. Traffic volumes on Cedar Avenue currently exceed 100,000 vehicles a day at the Minnesota River bridge on any given morning, with congestion sometimes extending as far south as County Road 42 in Apple Valley, Johnny Cake Road and Garden View Road, as well as even the largest highways & county roads of Pilot Knob and State Highway 3 (Between Eagan and Rosemount), a distance of several miles away. The cities of Lakeville, Farmington, and Eagan are projected to double in population between the year 2000 and 2025, and the City of Apple Valley will gain half again its current population: 90,000 more residents in the Corridor. Bus Rapid Transit
buses will have more futuristic commercial detail and other features, such as elevators, stairs and such at bus stations. Cedar Avenue will be reconstructed with new bus shoulder lanes for easier travel between Downtown Minneapolis and Lakeville. The Transitway will begin in Bloomington around Mall of America, and expand southward into Eagan, Apple Valley, and Lakeville with bus shoulder lanes on both sides of Cedar Avenue, making it easier to bypass traffic. Stations will be designed with bus pull offs to allow express buses to pass buses picking up and dropping off passengers.
(existing Hiawatha LRT line), the Green Line
(under construction LRT line between Minneapolis and St. Paul) and the Orange Line (under construction BRT line along Interstate 35W).
Minnesota State Highway 77
Minnesota State Highway 77 is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with 138th Street in Apple Valley and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with State Highway 62 in Minneapolis. The route is in length...
/County Road 23) between the Mall of America
Mall of America
The Mall of America, also called MOA and the Megamall, is a shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, in the United States. It is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the...
in Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
and 215th Street in Lakeville, Minnesota
Lakeville, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 43,128 people, 13,609 households, and 11,526 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,192.4 people per square mile . There were 13,799 housing units at an average density of 381.5 per square mile...
, and will connect with the Blue Line
Hiawatha Line
The Hiawatha Line is a light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington. It was formerly known as the Hiawatha Line named after Hiawatha Avenue. Major connections on the line include the Minneapolis-St...
. Construction officially started as of April 11, 2011.
Background
The corridor has seen rapidly increasing traffic volumes over the past 20 years due to explosive growth in Dakota CountyDakota County, Minnesota
Dakota County is the third most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The county is bordered by the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers on the north, and the state of Wisconsin on the east. Dakota County comprises the southeast portion of seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul, the thirteenth...
. Traffic congestion is a commonplace along much of the corridor as far south as County Road 42
Dakota County CSAH 42
County State-Aid Highway 42, usually called County Road 42, is a primary arterial highway in Dakota and Scott Counties of southeastern Minnesota...
. The Metropolitan Council
Metropolitan Council
The Metropolitan Council or Met Council is the regional governmental agency and metropolitan planning organization in Minnesota serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. The Met Council is granted regional authority powers in state statutes by the Minnesota Legislature. These powers...
, county, and local officials are promoting the transitway as a means to improve mobility in the corridor.
The Red Line will serve the Mall of America in Bloomington to 215th Street in Lakeville, serving some of the fastest growing areas in the Metropolitan Area and in the State of Minnesota. Traffic volumes on Cedar Avenue currently exceed 100,000 vehicles a day at the Minnesota River bridge on any given morning, with congestion sometimes extending as far south as County Road 42 in Apple Valley, Johnny Cake Road and Garden View Road, as well as even the largest highways & county roads of Pilot Knob and State Highway 3 (Between Eagan and Rosemount), a distance of several miles away. The cities of Lakeville, Farmington, and Eagan are projected to double in population between the year 2000 and 2025, and the City of Apple Valley will gain half again its current population: 90,000 more residents in the Corridor. Bus Rapid Transit
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
buses will have more futuristic commercial detail and other features, such as elevators, stairs and such at bus stations. Cedar Avenue will be reconstructed with new bus shoulder lanes for easier travel between Downtown Minneapolis and Lakeville. The Transitway will begin in Bloomington around Mall of America, and expand southward into Eagan, Apple Valley, and Lakeville with bus shoulder lanes on both sides of Cedar Avenue, making it easier to bypass traffic. Stations will be designed with bus pull offs to allow express buses to pass buses picking up and dropping off passengers.
Line color
In July 2011, the Metropolitan Council officially designated the Cedar Avenue BRT line as the Red Line. This is part of a broader scheme to designate Minneapolis transit lines by color. Corresponding lines within the system include the Blue LineHiawatha Line
The Hiawatha Line is a light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington. It was formerly known as the Hiawatha Line named after Hiawatha Avenue. Major connections on the line include the Minneapolis-St...
(existing Hiawatha LRT line), the Green Line
Central Corridor (Minnesota)
The Central Corridor is a light rail line under construction that is to cover the stretch between the downtown regions of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota...
(under construction LRT line between Minneapolis and St. Paul) and the Orange Line (under construction BRT line along Interstate 35W).
Project Details
- 2011 Implementation Plan - Final Report (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - 2011 Official Cedar/Red Line Map (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - 2011 Future Plan Map (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - Prioritization - Final Report (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - Revised Alternatives (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - Definitions of Alternatives (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
)
Construction & Roadway Schematics
- Apple Valley (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - Lakeville (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - Apple Valley/Lakevile Satellite View (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
)
3D Simulation Roadway Schematic
2009
- July 2009 Update (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - August 2009 Update (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - September 2009 Update (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - October 2009 Update (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - November 2009 Update (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - December 2009 Update (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
)
2010
- January 2010 Update (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - February 2010 Update (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - March 2010 Update (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - April 2010 Update - (N/A)
- May 2010 Update - (N/A)
- June 2010 Update - (N/A)
- July 2010 Update - (N/A)
- August 2010 Update - (N/A)
- September 2010 Update - (N/A)
- October 2010 Update - (N/A)
- November 2010 Update - (N/A)
- December 2010 Update - (N/A)
2011
2009
- January 2009 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - February 2009 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - March 2009 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - April 2009 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - May 2009 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - June 2009 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - July 2009 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - August 2009 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - September 2009 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - October 2009 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - November 2009 Presentation - (N/A)
- December 2009 Presentation - (N/A)
2010
- January 2010 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - February 2010 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - March 2010 Presentation - (N/A)
- April 2010 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - May 2010 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - June 2010 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - July 2010 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - August 2010 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - September 2010 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - October 2010 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - November 2010 Presentation (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - December 2010 Presentation - (N/A)
Workshops
- September 2009 Workshop (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - October 2010 Workshop (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
)
External links
- Cedar Avenue/Red Line Information Site 1#
- Cedar Avenue/Red Line Information Site 2#
- Metropolitan Council webpage on the project
- Next Steps (2009 - 2012)
See also
- Bus Rapid TransitBus rapid transitBus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
- Minnesota Valley Transit AuthorityMinnesota Valley Transit AuthorityThe Minnesota Valley Transit Authority is a public transportation agency that provides fixed-route and demand-responsive bus services to several communities in the southern portion of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The service area currently includes the cities of Apple Valley,...
- Metro TransitMetro Transit (Minnesota)Metro Transit is the transit division of the Metropolitan Council, a regional governmental agency in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Metro Transit is the largest operator of bus services in the seven-county region surrounding Minneapolis and St...
- Hiawatha LineHiawatha LineThe Hiawatha Line is a light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington. It was formerly known as the Hiawatha Line named after Hiawatha Avenue. Major connections on the line include the Minneapolis-St...
- Northstar Line
- Kenrick Avenue Park and Ride