State funding likely for Second, Marquette reconstruction

A street reconstruction plan aimed at making it easier for buses and pedestrians to get through downtown Minneapolis is expected to get a confidence boost this afternoon at the State Capitol.

The project calls for building wider sidewalks and a pair of one-way bus lanes on both Second and Marquette avenues. The changes would shave about 10 minutes off a bus ride from one end of downtown to the other.

The improvements are part of $133 million federal grant announced last August. The package is designed to relieve Interstate 35W congestion between downtown and the southern suburbs. But the money is contingent on the State Legislature’s chipping in a $55 million local match.

Continued: Click “Read more”While there was previously some doubt about whether outstate and east metro legislators would support the project, the matching funds appear to be falling into place. What’s not in the bank already should be included in a conference committee capital spending bill due out this afternoon, Metropolitan Council lobbyist Judd Schetnan said this morning.

“This project will get a big shot in the arm today when that bonding bill comes out, as long as those monies are in there, and I’m confident that they are,” Schetnan said.

Metropolitan Council and the Minnesota Department of Transportation are the main recipients of the grant, though some money would be assigned to cities along the corridor. Other projects included are new park-and-ride ramps and toll lanes that would be free for buses and car-pool vehicles.

Construction needs to be completed by Dec. 31, 2009, according to the grant, which is why Minneapolis has been moving ahead with planning for the Second and Marquette reconstruction even though the Legislature has yet to finalize its matching support. The City Council will vote on Friday whether to let public works staff hire a firm immediately to finish planning and design and coordinate the construction.

“We don’t have the funding yet, but we know that if we don’t get started, we won’t be able to meet the deadline,” said Bill Fellows, project manager for the city.

Fellows told the City Council’s budget committee on Monday that less than $2 million is at stake if it hires the firm, URS/SEH, and the Legislature doesn’t agree to the funding match. That risk appears to be diminishing.

“I’m confident that it will be there,” Schetnan said. “This should be a pretty exciting day for this project if that money is there.”

The next step for the city will be working with property owners along both avenues before launching into “a very aggressive” construction schedule, Fellows said. When the city rebuilt Third Avenue, it took two years to complete. This project is twice the size and will need to be finished in less time.