Plans are underway for the implementation of the Metro Blue Line extension project in Hennepin County. Metropolitan Council recently revealed the preferred route, a path running from downtown Minneapolis to Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. This rail extension is expected to address the transit needs in the municipalities of Golden Valley, Robins Dale, and Crystal.
Previously the Metro Blue Line extension plan involved light rail trains running alongside BNSF freight trains at Bottineau’s axis. Unfortunately, the plan was scrapped due to failed negotiations with the freight rail operators over the past years. In the end, the route was shifted eastward and altered to exclude Highway 55 and a stop at Golden Valley. The city council made use of feedback gathered from the public over the past 18 months to revise the route.
The Metro Blue Line extension is planned for 2025, pending final consultations between the Metropolitan Council and community partners. Council officials mentioned that the project would connect people to new destinations, and create jobs and investments for communities. They also said the new route, running through North Minneapolis, would provide lower-income residents with more transit alternatives.
Mapped out route for the Metro Blue Line extension project
The Metro Blue Line extension route shows a 13-mile line, starting from the Target Field Transit station in Minneapolis. The route continues along North 7th Street all the way to Lyndale Avenue North. Finally splitting off onto West Broadway Avenue and North 21st Avenue. It later rejoins West Broadway Avenue, after a short distance and continues on this street, reaching Bottineau Boulevard in Robbinsdale.
Several stops will be positioned at strategic points along the new extension route. These include Plymouth Avenue North and Lyndale, Emerson-Fremont, Penn Avenue and West Broadway, North Memorial Hospital, and Downtown Robbinsdale. Bass Lake Road in Crystal and 63rd Avenue in Brooklyn Park will also be included. Other stops will be available at the Oak Grove Parkway intersections, Brooklyn Boulevard, 85th Avenue, 93rd Avenue, and West Broadway Avenue.
Measures are also being considered to minimize displacements due to construction work on the Metro Blue Line extension project. Especially in the West Broadway business corridor, which is a region housing many Black-owned businesses. This issue is being addressed by an anti-displacement workgroup consisting of Met Council and Hennepin County members.
