St. Paul, Minn. – Today, the House Transportation Committee discussed legislation authored by Rep. Connie Bernardy (DFL-New Brighton) to fund the arterial bus rapid transit (BRT) F-Line, a 10-20 minute service along Central Avenue over to University Avenue ending at Northtown.
“All Minnesotans deserve a safe and reliable transportation system, no matter where they live, what they look like, or which transportation choice serves them best,” said Rep. Bernardy. “I’ll continue to advocate for this project so residents and commuters can get where they need to go safely.”
The line received $17.5 million in preliminary funding in last year’s state transportation budget. Community engagement work related to this project will start later this year, with construction anticipated in 2025 and service starting in 2026 pending full funding.
Rep. Bernardy’s legislation would invest $40 million in the F Line BRT to construct the project. The F Line will operate along the corridor currently served by Route 10 regular bus service. This runs between the Northtown Mall on the border of Spring Lake Park and Blaine down through Fridley, Columbia Heights, and Northeast Minneapolis into downtown Minneapolis along University and Central Avenues.
Currently Route 10 is one of the top 5 busiest local bus routes providing more than 7,000 rides per day in 2019. 46% of the route’s riders are people of color or from low-income households.
The bill is being considered for inclusion to a larger, future Transportation bill.
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