Photos from the Secretary of Transportation’s visit to Union Depot on Oct. 15.
Archive for category Transit
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited Union Depot in downtown St. Paul with Congresswoman Betty McCollum and members of the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 15, 2009. LaHood vowed to be a “full partner” with Ramsey County in developing the multimodal transit hub and called the Union Depot project a national model of planning and community collaboration. Read more about the visit at OnBoard Midwest. We’ll also be posting photos from the tour on Flickr soon.
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More Central Corridor News
Aug 26
From the city of St. Paul:
Assuming the responsibility to fulfill long-standing commitments to Central Corridor project partners and residents, Mayor Chris Coleman and Councilmembers Melvin Carter III and Russ Stark agreed that the City would assemble, from its own budget, the resources necessary to build the first of three additional stations on the light rail transit line between Rice and Snelling streets.
The decision comes as a compromise with the Metropolitan Council, which in return for the city’s effort to build the station at Western Avenue, Hamline Avenue or Victoria Avenue, will assume responsibility for the acquisition of the diagonal right-of-way through the block bounded by 4th and 5th, Cedar and Minnesota. It will further commit $1.5 million to improving the façade of the line’s Operations and Maintenance Facility in Lowertown.
Entire story is here.
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Environmental Assessment Published
In order to secure federal funding for the purchase and renovation of Minnesota’s Union Depot, Ramsey County and its partner agencies were required to perform an environmental assessment of the project. A notice of availability was published in the August 24, 2009 EQB Monitor on behalf of the Federal Highway Administration and Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration.
The comment period for the Draft EA will remain open from August 24-October 8, 2009. Written comments on the Draft EA will be accepted until the close of business on October 8, 2009.
Comments may be made by:
Mail: Steve Morris, Transit Project Manager, RCRRA, 50 W Kellogg Boulevard, Suite 6560 RCGC-West, St. Paul, MN 55102
Phone: (651) 266-2795 (note: This line will record comments only and is not staffed. To ask questions about the project or the environmental assessment, contact Steve Morris at (651) 266-2784)
Fax: (651) 266-2761
E-mail: Steve Morris
Public Hearings Scheduled
To afford an opportunity for all interested persons, agencies and groups to comment on the EA, two public hearings have been scheduled for September 9, 2009, at the Union Depot Head House, 214 4th St. E., St. Paul, MN 55101:
- 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The public hearings will be open house format with formal presentations. The formal presentations during the afternoon meeting begin at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.; for the evening meeting the formal presentations will be at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. A court reporter will be on hand to record oral comments. Individuals with a disability who need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the public meeting or comment on the Draft EA should contact the RCRRA Project Manager (651-266-2784).
Copies of Environmental Assessment Available for Review
Copies of the EA for the rehabilitation and reuse of Minnesota’s Union Depot as a multi-modal transit hub are available for review online (Click here for the complete assessment, broken into sections. Some of the sections are still large and might require some time to download) or at the following libraries and RCRRA offices during regular business hours:
- St. Paul Central Library, 90 West Fourth Street, St. Paul, MN, 55102
- Rondo Community Outreach Library, 461 N. Dale Street, St. Paul, MN, 55103
- Hamline Midway Library, 1558 West Minnehaha Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55104
- Merriam Park Library, 1831 Marshall Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55104
- St. Anthony Park Library, 2245 Como Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108
- Dayton’s Bluff Library, 645 East 7th Street, St. Paul, MN, 55106
- Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority, 50 W Kellogg Boulevard, Suite 6560 RCGC-West, St. Paul, MN 55102
- Mn/DOT Library, Minnesota Department of Transportation, M.S. 155, Room 175, Transportation Bldg., 395 John Ireland Boulevard, St. Paul, MN, 55103
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Photo courtesy Midwest High Speed Rail Assn.
From OnBoard Midwest:
Yesterday MnDOT announced it will apply this year for federal stimulus money for the Union Depot and to help with planning for the high-speed rail connection to Chicago.
- $137 million federal stimulus grant would go to develop the St. Paul Union Depot into a bus and rail transit hub
- $50 million would go for preliminary work on a Chicago-to-Twin Cities high-speed passenger rail corridor
The proposed high-speed rail project will be the first of a series of new investments in rail transit in Minnesota and create momentum for future projects. Yesterday’s news from MnDOT is one more example of the growing support for rail in our community.
In 2010 MnDOT will seek $150 million to extend the Northstar commuter rail line to St. Cloud and $45 million for preliminary engineering and design of the proposed Northern Lights Express passenger rail line from Duluth to Minneapolis.
A high-speed rail connection between the Union Depot and Chicago is one step closer to reality and Minnesota’s vision for an integrated rail transit system moves forward.
Click here to read the full article.
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In August, the Metropolitan Council and three Hmong organizations will hold a business and workforce opportunity session featuring the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit project. This is the Met Council’s fourth large community meeting in less than a year for minority-owned, women-owned and small businesses or job seekers to learn about job opportunities on the biggest public works project in state history. The latest session is targeted at Hmong business owners and Hmong workforce advocates who have an interest in ensuring Hmong inclusion in the Central Corridor LRT line’s construction, which will begin in late summer 2010. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Aug. 12 at Lao Family Community of Minnesota Inc. at 320 W. University Ave. in St. Paul. To register, contact Lu Hang at the Hmong Chamber of Commerce by Aug. 6 by email or by phone at 651-645-6777. To read more about the Met Council’s outreach to disadvantaged business enterprises, read the council’s new DBE Newsletter. To get the latest information about the Light Rail Transit project, read the Met Council’s monthly Central Corridor newsletter, Making Tracks.
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Central Corridor Updates
Jul 20
Rendering from St. Paul Downtown Station Area Plan by Urban Strategies
Don’t forget to check the Regional Rail web site frequently for updates on the Central Corridor light rail project, now that preliminary construction work has begun. New on the site are updates on soil boring work that will affect parking along the entire route through November, and a reminder about the approaching deadline for public comment on the Final Environmental Impact Statement. Also, be sure to follow @RamseyCounty on Twitter and to subscribe to Central Corridor project updates by email on GovDelivery.
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Artists check out Union Depot concourse.
Artists selected to create public art installations for the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit project linking St. Paul and Minneapolis visited the Union Depot concourse on April 16 to get a feel for the site of Ramsey County’s planned multimodal transit hub. Ramsey County and the U.S. Postal Service agreed to terms last year for the sale of the depot concourse to the county for redevelopment as a transit hub. Ramsey County also agreed to purhase the lobby portion of the depot, the head house, from private owners last month. The county is in the process of doing its due diligence before completing the headhouse purchase. An environmental assessment of the concourse and surrounding land is ongoing.
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OnBoard Midwest backers gather at Union Depot in St. Paul
On Board Midwest is a coalition of people, businesses, elected officials, and organizations who support the proposed high-speed rail project connecting Saint Paul to Chicago. Supporters of the rail line, including business leaders, city, state and county officials from up and down the line, gathered at Union Depot on Monday to celebrate Ramsey County’s purchase of the facility and its plans to renovate the facility into a multimodal transit hub for the region. Supporters also highlighted President Obama’s strong support for high speed rail nationwide and the launch of the OnBoard Midwest Web site and social networking tools available through the site.
The project will be a part of the Midwest Regional Rail System, a 3,000-mile system that will create new passenger rail line connections throughout the Midwest.
The proposed 400-mile Saint Paul-to-Chicago rail line will enter Minnesota at La Crescent and travel north for 150 miles along the Mississippi River through Winona and Red Wing before ending at the Union Depot in Saint Paul. The project will utilize existing tracks between Saint Paul and Chicago and capitalize on substantial investments already committed to the region.
In Saint Paul, the project will include:
- Revitalization of the historic Union Depot.
- Extension of light rail to Saint Paul with the Central Corridor.
- Reconstruction of the Lafayette Bridge.
- Enhancement of the area’s trail and bike system.
The proposed rail line will help reestablish Saint Paul as a multi-modal transportation hub that will connect with the 1-94, the Red Rock, Rush Line, and Robert Street transit corridors.
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