> News+Events > Newsletter > Transportation - September 2009

Marquette and 2nd makeover nears debut

The crown jewel of the new express bus network in downtown Minneapolis is getting ready for its debut.

After more than a year of work to rebuild Marquette and 2nd avenues from building face to building face, the major road reconstruction is done and the streets are open to regular automobile traffic.

Second Avenue in downtown Minneapolis got a makeover this year as part of the Urban Partnership Agreement. Before buses return to the street on Dec. 14, new transit shelters will go up..

Additional customer amenities along the two streets are being installed this fall, all leading up to Dec. 14, when more than 60 express bus routes will travel on the transit corridor, serving dozens of regional park-and-ride facilities.

That transition will mark a major milestone for one of the largest transportation enhancements envisioned in Access Minneapolis, a 10-year action plan that addresses a full range of transportation options and issues in downtown Minneapolis.

Among the enhancements on the new transit corridor:

• New streets with side-by-side bus-only lanes
• Bus travel speeds through downtown doubled or even tripled
• Real-time bus departure signs and larger, more comfortable shelters
• Updated street design with improved lighting, trees and public art
• New, wider sidewalks

A second group of express bus routes will move to the new transit corridor in March 2010.

A ‘ballet of buses’

Under the old way that buses traveled on these streets, the fastest speed was set by the slowest bus. Buses would form a “conga line” behind the slowest moving bus.

Transit improvements on Marquette and 2nd will make that scene a thing of the past.

"With the double-width bus lanes, buses will pass one another and stop every other block instead of every block,” said Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. “Rather than a conga line, we will have a ballet of buses, with travel times through downtown reduced by up to 10 minutes.”

When the new transit corridor opens in December, each block will accommodate two bus stops, with routes assigned to bus stops according to a lettering system.

"Marry the capacity improvements and time savings with the transit amenities such as more shelters, trees, new lighting and NexTrip signs, and you have a transit service that is substantially more attractive than today,” Lamb said.

The reconstruction of Marquette and 2nd avenues is part of a $183.5 million federal/state Urban Partnership Agreement, a series of transportation projects aimed at improving traffic conditions by providing commuters with more travel choices on I-35W, Highway 77/Cedar Avenue and in downtown Minneapolis.

Read more about UPA projects opening this fall.

Getting ready for the transformation

Metro Transit and regional transit providers are training 700 bus drivers who will operate buses on the new corridor.

This illustration shows the double bus lanes on Second and Marquette avenues, which will reduce commuting times through downtown..

To help customers get ready for the changes in downtown Minneapolis, information about the project has been posted on the Metro Transit website. There, customers also can look up their express route number to learn about its stops on Marquette and 2nd avenues.

Employees from Metro Transit and the Downtown Minneapolis TMO are providing presentations about the changes coming to Marquette and 2nd avenues to businesses in downtown Minneapolis.

In addition, brochures are available on all regional routes that will travel on the new transit corridor, and newspaper ads and posters will promote the transformation in downtown Minneapolis. Metro Transit employees also will be assigned to key locations in downtown the week before and the week of the transition to Marquette and 2nd.