Transit Overhaul Begins in Downtown Minneapolis
Redesign and reconstruction of two streets will dramatically alter the traffic landscape downtown
August 4, 2008 (MINNEAPOLIS) – Groundbreaking today on a $34 million transit project in the heart of downtown Minneapolis marks the start of an ambitious multi-year project that will reshape how people get into, out of, and around downtown Minneapolis.
A reconstruction of Marquette and Second avenues from First to 12th streets south, a project known as MARQ2, will dramatically increase bus capacity on those streets, letting those buses move more efficiently through Downtown. It will also affect other major downtown streets, such as Hennepin Ave. and Nicollet Mall.
“Right now, every bus can only move as fast as the slowest bus along Marquette and Second,” Mayor R.T. Rybak said. “This work will add a second bus lane, making it possible for buses to come into and get out of downtown faster.”
The reconstruction includes new double bus lanes on Marquette and Second, which allows for “staggered stopping.” Buses will be able to pass other buses that have stopped for passengers, getting more quickly to their own stops.
“Passengers will be spending a lot less time sitting, waiting on an express bus as it moves slowly through Downtown,” said City Council Transportation and Public Works Committee Chair Sandy Colvin Roy. “That will make using buses more attractive to thousands of commuters who work here and make our city more accessible than ever before.”
When the MARQ2 project is completed in late 2009, other changes will come to downtown streets. Express buses will no longer run on Nicollet Mall, opening it up to more bike traffic and reducing peak-hour bus traffic by 40 percent. Also, Hennepin Avenue and First Avenue North will be converted into two-way streets.
MARQ 2 is one of the major components of Access Minneapolis, the City’s comprehensive ten-year transportation action plan. This plan addresses a full range of transportation options and issues facing Minneapolis, including pedestrians, bicycles, transit, automobiles, and freight.
Much of the funding for MARQ2 comes from the Urban Partnership Agreement, a $133.3 million federal program for strategies to reduce traffic congestion in the Twin Cities. The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Council applied for the funding in April 2007.
For more information on MARQ2, go to:
www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/public-works/marq2.
For more information on Access Minneapolis, go to:
www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/public-works/trans-plan.
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