Politics & Government

Cedar Avenue Construction in Apple Valley, Lakeville to Continue Through 2012

Utility work along Cedar Avenue to prepare for major roadway construction will continue through December. Lane widening and other major improvement projects are set to begin when snow melts.

Once Cedar Avenue's face-lift is finished in 2012, the highway will be a jewel—an example for the rest of the nation on how Bus Rapid Transit should look and operate, Dakota County officials say.

But until then, traffic through Apple Valley and Lakeville along Cedar Avenue, the county's busiest road, will be a headache as construction crews widen the highway to accommodate new bus lanes.

"Once the project is complete, the (Cedar Avenue) corridor will be one of the first Bus Rapid Transit corridors in the Midwest," said Sam O'Connell, the county's transit specialist.

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But construction isn't going to be done until 2012, and in the meantime, officials have acknowledged that during construction, navigating Cedar Avenue will be a challenge, with frequent lane closures and snarls in traffic. The project, which has already begun with utility work, and is set to ramp up in the spring of 2011 and end in the fall of 2012, should ease congestion by widening lanes and adding bus lanes along the busy highway.

The road improvements are a $40 million phase in the county's $135 million Cedar Avenue BRT project.

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But the benefits are no joke. O'Connell said riders heading from the Lakeville's park-and-ride station, located at 179th Street, to downtown Minneapolis using express buses save 19 minutes per one-way trip, meaning riders save nearly 40 minutes in travel time a day by riding the bus round trip.

"That time means something for people," O'Connell said.

Lakeville resident Andrew Willaert said he takes the bus to his job with Target in downtown Minneapolis. He does it because he was tired of sitting in traffic.

"I get an hour a day back now," he said while waiting for his bus at the Apple Valley Transit Station. "I have time to mow the lawn and help my son with homework."

And BRT, once up and running, will also offer station-to-station service beyond the express routes currently available. The county says that benefit is akin to the frequency, speed and reliability of light-rail transit, only without the rails.

Willaert, 36, said he's happy people are using the transit options in Dakota County, but, despite being a faithful rider who loves the time the bus saves him, he still has concerns.

"It's been great, riding the bus," he said, "but I'm worried about where the funding meets property taxes once we're up and running."

The project, while fully funded, has received its dollars from more than 20 different sources, county officials say. The Metropolitan Council is just one of the funding arms for transit all over the state.

Many of the things that will make Cedar Avenue a BRT corridor are already in place. Facilities like the new station in Apple Valley that has a walkway spanning Cedar Avenue, are already up and running. Express trips are also available from Apple Valley, Lakeville and Eagan stations to St. Paul and the University of Minnesota.

But to make it a true BRT corridor, where riders can take the bus from station to station, Cedar Avenue must be improved, O'Connell said.

The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority will be the primary operator of the BRT corridor once it's done in 2012. The group not only operates the buses and routes, but also the transit stations that are used.

Robin Selvig, the customer service manager for the MVTA said the Cedar Avenue stations, including one located in Eagan and another in Burnsville, "are pretty well used right now."

On Thursday, at Dakota County's Western Service Center, county officials held the final monthly project update they'll ever give. At the meeting, Project Manager Kristine Elwood said bids for construction have been received and the county hopes to award the low bidder, Shafer Contracting Co., at the County Commissioners meeting on Jan. 4.

Utility work will continue along Cedar Avenue in Apple Valley and Lakeville through December, O'Connell said. Crews will get to roadway construction in the spring.

Elwood said, in addition to the roadway improvements along Cedar Avenue, three new bus stations will also go up. Smaller than the park-and-ride stations recently built in Apple Valley and Lakeville, the stations will allow for access specifically for the station-to-station BRT trips that will begin in 2012.

Those locations will be at 140th and 147th streets in Apple Valley, and 161st Street in Lakeville. By 2030, Lakeville will also have stops at Glacier Way, 195th Street and 215th Street, which will also be the end of the transit corridor, Elwood said.


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