Metro Transit Breaks Ground on New Cedar Grove Transit Station

Community leaders from around the region broke ground Thursday on a project aimed at improving public transit service in the south metro. Metro Transit will be constructing a new skyway-connected passenger platform at the Cedar Grove Transit Station that will improve service in the Highway 77/Cedar Avenue corridor.

The project will construct the new platform in the center of the highway, so Metro Red Line buses and express buses can stop at the station without leaving the highway, saving several minutes of travel time.

“This new feature at Cedar Grove will make this important transit connection more reliable and improve options for people living and working in this corridor,” said Metropolitan Council Chair Adam Duininck. “Connections like this give residents access to the entire regional transit system, something we know is a critical aspect to the prosperity of the region. We need to continue to invest in our transit system so we can provide reliable service everywhere in the region.”

Duininck was joined in marking the event by Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire, Dakota County Board Chair Nancy Schouweiler, Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlinrepresenting the Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB), and Dakota County Commissioner Jon Ulrich who chairs the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority.

The Highway 77/Cedar Avenue corridor is one of the busiest roads in the state – each day, about 90,000 motorists cross the Minnesota River on the road. The Cedar Grove Transit Station is one of five stops on the Metro Red Line, and is a key connection point for express and local bus routes in the area.

The station improvements project is a collaboration between the Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit and the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Dakota Regional Railroad Authority, City of Eagan, Counties Transit Improvement Board, and Minnesota Valley Transit Authority.