Council Chair Peter Bell addressed transportation concerns and improvements in his State of the Region talk Monday, Feb. 1.

One of the tensions in the Twin Cities area is building rail versus building more highways and bridges.

While light, high-speed and commuter rail get the headlines, Bell favors less expensive and more efficient bus systems for the future.  He particularly cites bus rapid transit which compared to light rail has 70 to 80 percent of the benefit for 20 percent of the cost.  The bus still is the workhorse of the transportation system, Bell says.  He cited the I-35W bus rapid transit as having a great deal of promise.

He also favors building more miles of bus shoulder lanes.  The region has 292 miles of bus shoulder lanes, 10 times more than any other metropolitan region in the country.

Residents are using the bus system more.  Regional ridership is up to 89 million a year. Park-and-ride capacity also is up to 28,700.

The ridership on the Hiawatha Light Rail rail in Minneapolis is attracting 30,000, riders  daily, exceeding the estimate for 2020.

The Northstar Commuter rail, extending from Minneapolis to Big Lake in Sherburne County, is carrying 2,200 passengers per day, which is less than expected.  The hope is to have 5,900 per day by 2030.

Work has begun on relocating utility poles in St. Paul to prepare for the Central Corridor light rail transit line, connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul.   It is running into trouble with the University of Minnesota, which is suing the council for wanting to run the line down Washington Avenue.  This 11-mle corridor will have 15 stations with predicted ridership of 4,200 per day.

The next light rail project for the Metro Council will be the southwest corridor of 14 miles between Eden Prairie and downtown Minneapolis. It will have 17 stations and cost $1.2 billion.

Six transitways are identified for the 2030 transportation policy plan.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT)  is a major player in building bridges and highways in the Twin Cities Area.  A major rebuild is the Crosstown highway intersection, scheduled to be finished this fall.

Another is the Wakota bridge over the Mississippi River in Dakota county also scheduled to be completed this fall.

Much of the funding is state and federal, particular federal stimulus which is being used to pay for extending Interstate Highway 610.

Another component is high speed rail, and work soon will begin on upgrading high speed rail going from Madison, Wis., to Milwaukee. Eventually high speed rail will go from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Chicago.

How to finance these improvements is a major challenge.  Bell says eliminating congestion in the Twin Cities area would cost $40 billion over 20 years.  There is $900 million available, and in the short term, he doesn’t see major projects being built.

He calls for a Highway Investment Study working with Mn/DOT to figure how to get the biggest bang for limited bucks.

How to spend revenues efficiently to relieve traffic congestion continues to be the biggest item on the Metro Council and Mn/DOT plate. – DON HEINZMAN