Additional LRT station in Bloomington is back on track

Station was planned but deferred just before construction in 2003

Two years after it was cut from the final Hiawatha LRT construction schedule, an additional light rail station just south of the international airport in Bloomington has a new life.

Depending on final funding decisions, the station could be put into service as early as 2008 but no later than 2010. The opening date depends on a decision the Metropolitan Council will make in December.

Bloomington is encouraging a sooner-rather-than-later approach. “Constructing the American Boulevard Station will complete the LRT infrastructure as originally planned in our Airport South district,” said Clark Arneson, Bloomington assistant city manager. “The station is a key component of future development plans in the area.”

A train heading south of the American Boulevard and 34th Ave. intersection in Bloomington begins turning west toward the Mall of America. The new American Boulevard Station will be located near the middle of the photo (at traffic lights behind the stopped cars). The I-494 bridge is visible in the background.

Arneson said the station, at the intersection of American Boulevard and 34th Ave., will encourage more transit-oriented development along the line, including thousands of new housing units and other amenities — some already being developed — in the area between the Mall of America and the Humphrey charter terminal. He has called Airport South “the city’s most important development area” and one “that could set the stage for future development across the city for years to come.”

Service as early as 2008

The Metropolitan Council and the City of Bloomington submitted a joint proposal last year to partly fund the station from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program. The station is included in the Council’s proposed long-range capital improvement program for 2007-2012 for service in 2008.

The station could be fast-tracked for construction in 2008 if the Council authorizes $300,000 to underwrite design and engineering costs in 2007 — two years ahead of what would occur under normal CMAQ funding. The Council will vote on the measure at a meeting on December 13.

Mark Fuhrmann, deputy general manager of Metro Transit, said the new station will likely be added to the rail line without interrupting normal service. That’s possible because some preliminary work — such as installation of footings and electric conduit — was done at the site during initial LRT construction in 2003.

Fuhrmann said the CMAQ grant also includes funding to expand park-and-ride capacity at the 28th Avenue Station in Bloomington. The Bloomington Planning Commission has approved a five-level parking structure that will add more than 1,100 spaces to the existing 550 at the station.

“The additional parking capacity will greatly improve access to LRT for regular weekday commuters and for customers traveling downtown for special events,” Fuhrmann said.