The Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County have released a route recommendation for the METRO Blue Line Extension. After reviewing community input and findings from technical analyses completed to date, the project recommends extending the existing Blue Line light rail transit from Target Field station along West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis to County Road 81 in Crystal and Robbinsdale, and along West Broadway Avenue in Brooklyn Park.
This recommendation comes from nearly two years of community outreach, technical analysis, and stakeholder interaction, and is a major milestone for this transformational investment in our community.
The community may provide their thoughts on the route recommendation. Comments on the report should be shared by/before May 18. The public can offer input through any of the following ways: visit BlueLineExt.org and submit a comment form; fill out and mail the comment form included in the report document; email your input to Kjerstin.Yager@metrotransit.org; and view/leave comments on the interactive map.
“The new proposed route for the Blue Line Extension Light Rail project will bring transformational benefits to residents from Minneapolis to Brooklyn Park,” said Irene Fernando, Hennepin County District 2 Commissioner and chair of the Regional Railroad Authority. “The communities served by the proposed route are transit-reliant and racially diverse and have experienced historical disinvestment. The proposed route will connect students to education, workers to jobs, patients to healthcare, and families to resources, while connecting the corridor to the broader transit network. This project will ignite economic development for small businesses, result in more affordable housing options, increase access to educational opportunities, and build wealth for working families.”
“The benefits of this project exceed the obvious,” said Jeff Lunde, Hennepin County District 1 Commissioner. “We will be making infrastructure improvements that help all modes of transportation, upgrading utilities, and addressing environmental injustices all along the corridor. With one project, we are transforming peoples’ access as well as the livability within their surroundings. We are also transforming employers’ abilities to get staff onsite, which is gaining in importance as people return to workplaces.”
The Met Council and Hennepin County will consider public input along with technical analyses before approving a final route. After a route is officially adopted by the Met Council, work on the design and environmental review will advance.
Find more details at BlueLineExt.org: The full Route Modification Report; ways to share input; upcoming in-person and virtual meetings for community members to ask questions and provide feedback; and information about the overall process, public input and technical evaluation that informed the route recommendation.