Buses to replace Metro Transit Blue Line, parts of Green Line for maintenance this summer
The entirety of the Metro Transit Blue Line and parts of the Green Line will shut down for a few weeks this summer and be replaced by buses as crews work to swap worn track and outdated equipment.
The Blue Line will be offline from June 29 to Aug. 19. The west end of the Green Line — from West Bank to Target Field — will shut down between July 1 and July 26 and again between Aug. 16 and Aug. 19.
The 12,000 daily commuters on the Blue Line will need to take buses, which Metro Transit says will stop at or near the stations every 15 minutes. Some boarding locations will be moved to Hiawatha Avenue, and staff will help guide riders to their bus stops for the construction period.
Nearly every stop along the 22-year-old Blue Line will see improvement, Metro Transit says. The stations will be outfitted with real-time signs and shelter glass.
"We understand what we're asking of our customers. My big takeaway or what I'm asking is to be able to share in that short-term pain, long-term gain," said Brian Funk, Metro Transit's chief operating officer. "We don't want to be doing this year, after year, after year. We know this is a heavy investment because of the location of the construction requires us to stop running trains, but we know it's going to be a good long-term investment."
Funk said the $175 million project has been in the works for years.
"All of this stuff has been in the ground since kind of turn of the century, when the Blue Line construction project started. We have things that are worn out, they're starting to rust, because of the weather we're experiencing," Funk said.
The Green Line will be back in service for the beginning of August to accommodate summer events, such as Twins and Lynx games, the WWE Summer Slam at U.S. Bank Stadium and Noah Kahan and Ed Sheeran concerts.
