METRO TRANSIT
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON
Even though our buses and trains are still running on a greatly reduced schedule, Metro Transit is hard at work behind the scenes building and planning for a COVID-19-free future.
That said, I wish to interrupt the good news to tell everyone that Cub Foods is running a FREE shuttle bus between its temporarily ruined Lake and Minnehaha location to their Quarry location at 1540 New Brighton Blvd. in Northeast Minneapolis. Buses leave the Lake Street Cub every hour between 10 AM and 5 PM and leave the Quarry store one half-hour later. Each bus will transport up to 20 people, allowing for social distancing and room for shopping bags. Other rules are similar to Metro Transit.
Now, for what is in store for us when this debacle is over:
- The Green Line Extension (Southwest Light Rail) construction is continuing as normal. It is planned to be ready for use in 2023.
- The Blue Line Extension (Bottineau Line Light Rail) is anticipated to be done by 2024; however, a snag in negotiations with BNSF Railway for use of their right of way may cause a delay.
- The D Line bus rapid transit (BRT) (similar to Route 5 but faster) is expected to open in 2022.
- The B and E (BRT) Lines (similar to Routes 21 and 6 but faster) are expected to be built in 2022 and 2023.
- The Orange Line (BRT) to Burnsville on I-35W is still under construction and is expected to open near the end of 2021.
- The Gold Line (BRT) from Saint Paul to Woodbury is expected to open in 2024.
All of this excitement gets to happen within the next presidential term, which means we all have something to look forward to no matter who wins in November”™s popularity contest.
