Despite support from cities and suburbs, Orange Line needs to secure funding

Officials from Minneapolis and the south metro suburbs gathered Thursday to support the Orange Line, the bus-rapid transit project along busy Interstate 35W that enjoys widespread — and unusual bipartisan — backing.

The $150.7 million project nevertheless faces a murky future, and a pressing deadline: Metropolitan Council officials must submit an application to the Federal Transit Administration by Sept. 2 for the project to be considered for funding in next year's federal budget.

"Economic development and jobs have no boundaries," declared Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz. "We are at a critical point. We need to embrace regional cooperation."

The problem is that local funding for the Orange Line, which would connect downtown Minneapolis and Burnsville, is currently unclear — and, ironically, the target of political bickering.

About $45 million was expected to come from the Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB), which levies a quarter-cent sales tax for transit in the metro area. But last month Dakota County voted to leave the board, causing hard feelings among members from other counties. Now there's some question whether CTIB funding for the Orange Line will be forthcoming.

And then there is the state's share of the Orange Line, about $12 million, which is stuck in the bonding bill stalled as part of the partisan battle at the Capitol. While Gov. Mark Dayton and legislative leaders are meeting Friday to discuss a special session that could unlock spending for bonding projects like the Orange Line, some observers say the session is still a long shot.

That leaves officials of cities along the Orange Line — Minneapolis, Richfield, Bloomington and Burnsville — highly frustrated.

"We've had strong bipartisan support from both parties, from mayors, all along the line," said Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis. "That is unique in planning transit projects of this size."

Members of the Dakota County Board weren't listed on Thursday's program, but Commissioner Liz Workman attended. Board Chairwoman Nancy Schouweiler, reached later on Thursday, said they support the Orange Line and will be on the hook for annual operating costs should it be built.

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said it's "time to complete the vision" of the Orange Line, where a 17-mile trip from downtown Minneapolis to Burnsville's Heart of the City would take just 26 minutes.

"It's time to put bus-rapid transit in the fast lane," she said.

Bus-rapid transit operates much like light rail — passengers pay before boarding, and buses arrive every 10 minutes during peak hours. I-35W was chosen for the Orange Line because it's one of the state's busiest and most congested commuter corridors, and has high-occupancy vehicle MnPass lanes for BRT vehicles.

The Orange Line also involves a complicated transportation ballet with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, which is expected to partner with the Metropolitan Council in overhauling two key bridges along I-35W and new MnPass lanes, as well as the highly anticipated Lake Street Transit Station on the freeway.

That two-story station would straddle the northbound and southbound lanes of I-35W, permitting customers on the Orange Line and other express buses to exit at the freeway level and have access to Lake Street, local bus routes and the Midtown Greenway on a lower level.

Met Council officials say that building the Orange Line, bridges and the Lake Street station at the same time would be the most cost-effective approach, and that delays could push the price tag of the BRT project higher.

MnDOT construction is slated to begin next year, and the Orange Line was supposed to begin service in 2019.

Meanwhile, community groups — including Transit for Livable Communities (TLC), a St. Paul nonprofit, and the Sierra Club — have organized phone banks to rally support for the line.

"The Orange Line is too important to our regional transit system to let politics and a $45 million funding gap get in the way," said Jessica Treat, TLC's executive director. "We have a tremendous opportunity to serve tens of thousands of transit riders every day and to dramatically improve equitable, affordable access to jobs with this project."

Janet Moore • 612-673-7752