Maple Grove Transit brings back State Fair express bus service

After a four-year hiatus, Maple Grove Transit is bringing back its State Fair express bus service.

Buses will run about every 30 minutes between 8 a.m. and midnight on Saturdays and Sundays and on Labor Day, with round trip service originating from the agency’s transit station at 12350 Main St. next to the Arbor Lakes retail center. Service will not run on weekdays.

“We are very excited about the State Fair bus service returning to Maple Grove,” said transit administrator Mike Opatz. “Many people have requested the return of this service, so we are sure it will be welcome news.”

Up until 2019, more than 30,000 riders a year took Maple Grove Transit buses to the Great Minnesota Get-Together, which this year runs from Aug. 22-Sept. 2. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and there was no fair.

Maple Grove Transit contracts with Metro Transit to operate its routes, including State Fair service. In the three years that followed the pandemic, Metro Transit struggled to find enough drivers and cut back on the number of State Fair park-and-ride sites in the metro area. Maple Grove was one of those.

As hiring picked up in the past year, Metro Transit slowly has restored regular-route service and express service that also had been axed. In 2023, Metro Transit brought Blaine back to its State Fair suburban park-and-ride network, and Maple Grove returns this year. The agency will announce its full State Fair plans on Monday, said Metro Transit spokesman Drew Kerr.

I-94 Gap project begins Monday

Residents living near Interstate 94 between Monticello and Albertville might have a sleepless night Monday and maybe Tuesday, too. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is apologizing in advance.

Crews will be cutting out segments of the road surface from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. and the work is on the loud side, the agency said.

“We apologize in advance,” MnDOT said in a construction update. “The operation is necessary and the contractor hopes it will only take one night. This work cannot be completed during the day due to location and traffic volumes.”

Motorists can expect off-peak lane closures and traffic delays for the next few months as MnDOT gets started on the “I-94 Gap” project to add a third lane between the two cities. Anyone in the area may hear the rumble of trucks and equipment in the overnight hours, MnDOT said.

MnDOT will build a third eastbound lane from Hwy. 25 to Wright County Road 19 and a third westbound lane from Wright County Road 37 to Hwy. 25. A new westbound bridge at County Road 19 also will go in.

From 2019 through 2021, MnDOT spent $350 million to add new lanes on I-94 from Monticello to Clearwater, from St. Michael to Albertville and between Rogers and Maple Grove. The agency didn’t have the money for the missing segment from Albertville to Monticello.

MnDOT will maintain two lanes in each direction while the work is done, the agency said.