The Red Rock Corridor is a proposed bus rapid transit transitway in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

and

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. The route connects the metropolitan area's southeastern suburbs to downtown St. Paul, and through it to downtown Minneapolis. The transitway would originate in

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

with planned stops in Cottage Grove, Newport and Saint Paul. The route will terminate at Saint Paul's Union Depot. From Union Depot, riders will connect with express buses, local buses, and the Metro Green Line to Minneapolis,

Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport — also less commonly known as Wold–Chamberlain Field — is a joint civil-military public international airport serving the Twin Cities in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in Fort ...

, and the

Mall of America Mall of America (MoA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north ...

. Highway 61 is the principal arterial for the Red Rock Corridor and is in a primary corridor for rail, truck, and automobile travel. By 2030, an increase of 100,000 people is projected for the southeast metro. The majority of jobs, however, will continue to be located within Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Minnesota Department of Transportation The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees Transportation in Minnesota, transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Cabinet (government), cabinet-lev ...

anticipates heavy congestion along Highway 61 during the morning and evening commute periods by 2030. The Red Rock Corridor Commission was established in 1998 as a joint powers board to address transportation needs for the corridor. The commission is made up of 11 members that represent the counties and communities along the transitway. Additionally, representatives from Goodhue County, the City of Red Wing, Prairie Island Indian Community, and the Canadian Pacific Railway serve as ex-officio members. The Red Rock Corridor Commission originally selected commuter rail as the mode for the Red Rock Corridor. In 2007, the commission determined that expanding service through a phased approach would help build demand for transit. The preferred mode of operation was updated to bus rapid transit during the Alternatives Analysis Update completed in 2014. The Red Rock Corridor Commission completed an implementation plan in 2016 focused on a phased approach to bring BRT to the southeast metro area. Strategies include improving local bus service in the near term and implementing BRT in the long term. The Red Rock Corridor Commission adopted the Implementation Plan on October 26, 2016.

References

External links

Red Rock Corridor Transitway web site

Red Rock Corridor Route Map
{{Twin Cities Transit Transportation in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Transportation in Washington County, Minnesota Proposed bus rapid transit in the United States Proposed public transportation in Minnesota Bus rapid transit in Minnesota Metro Transit (Minnesota)