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.
Archive for category OnBoard Midwest
Big Week for Union Depot
Sep 1
Commissioner Jim McDonough leads a tour of the depot concourse for members of Sen. Amy Klobuchar's staff.
Three significant pieces of news regarding St. Paul’s Union Depot, future home of the East Metro’s multimodal transit hub:
- From OnBoard Midwest — “The State of Minnesota has submitted a request for $135.8 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to renovate Union Depot as a multi-modal transit hub. The Minnesota Department of Transportation worked with the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority to submit an Intercity Passenger Rail grant application for Track 1 capital funding. This is another key milestone in the effort to create a high-speed rail connection between downtown Saint Paul and Chicago. Money from the grant request would be used to renovate the concourses, upgrade the tracks, and prepare the building to be a hub for light rail, passenger rail, high-speed rail, and bus service. Union Depot is considered a Track 1 project to qualify for the funding because it meets key standards:
- It is a capital project
- The project is ready to begin work
- Project level environmental review (NEPA) has been completed
The decision to submit the funding request was based on recommendations from the Aug. 3 Intercity Passenger Rail Forum meeting. MnDOT is also working to prepare an additional request for a grant for Track 2 projects next month that would include funding for corridor development work for the Milwaukee to Twin Cities portion of the Chicago to Twin Cities corridor. This would involve some additional planning and environmental review. On Board Midwest will continue to keep you updated as things move forward. “ - Staff members from U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office toured the depot, including the concourse and recently purchased head house, with Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough, chair of the Regional Rail Authority, and Tim Mayasich, its executive director.
- Ramsey County and its partner agencies published an Environmental Assessment of the Union Depot project Aug. 24, setting in motion a 45-day public comment period. More information about the Environmental Assessment and how to submit comments is listed below.
For more information about the Union Depot project, visit the depot web site or the Regional Rail web site.
Related posts
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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