Metro Transit announces new Gold Line bus rapid transit route will be extended to Minneapolis
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A new bus rapid transit route set to begin operating between Woodbury and St. Paul next spring will also be expanded to serve downtown Minneapolis, Metro Transit announced Tuesday.
The Gold Line is set to start service in March. Buses will run largely in dedicated lanes between Woodbury and downtown St. Paul, with stops along Interstate 94.
Metro Transit is now planning an expansion of the Gold Line into downtown Minneapolis to begin operating in 2027. The section of the Gold Line linking the two downtowns — with one stop in between, at Snelling Avenue — will replace the current express Route 94, which runs along I-94.
Route 94 currently sees about 800 riders each weekday, according to Metro Transit. It runs about every 20 minutes at rush hour on weekdays and less frequently through midday. The Gold Line will run more frequently, with service about every 10 minutes on weekdays and every 15 on weekends.
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“Extending the Gold Line will create a true crosstown route that allows people to travel efficiently between the east metro and some of our region’s top destinations,” Metro Transit General Manager Lesley Kandaras said in a news release.
Metro Transit estimated the expansion will cost about $20 million — mostly to cover the cost of station construction and additional buses. The initial phase of the Gold Line — including construction of dedicated bus lanes along I-94 — cost just over $500 million.
The Woodbury-to-St. Paul phase of the Gold Line is one of three Metro Transit bus rapid transit routes on track to open next year.
The B Line, scheduled to open in June, will run along Lake Street in Minneapolis and Marshall Avenue in St. Paul. The E line is scheduled to open in December 2025 and will run between University Avenue in St. Paul, downtown Minneapolis and Edina.
Correction (Oct. 22, 2024): This story has been updated to include the correct frequency of the buses.