Transportation transformation

From a new kind of lane to a new kind of train, Twin Cities commuters have a lot to learn this autumn.

The biggest wave of transportation transformation in years starts Wednesday when new toll and transit lanes and a special shoulder lane begin operating for the first time on Interstate 35W between Burnsville and Minneapolis. In November, the state's first commuter-rail line starts delivering passengers from as far as 40 miles away to a new multimodal transit station at the new ballpark. And in December, the ribbon will be cut on the new double bus lanes that are expected to shave five to 10 minutes off transit travel times through downtown Minneapolis.

In the process, the Twin Cities will serve as a test case for the nation in innovative ways to get people from Point A to Point B and back.

All this change will require commuters to adapt.

Drivers will have to keep an eye out for lane shifts and decide whether to invest in a MnPass transponder. Express bus riders will see altered, often speedier schedules and will have to find their new stops on rebuilt Marquette and 2nd Avenues. Commuter-rail users will have to figure out whether transferring to the Hiawatha light-rail line's three-block extension is the fastest way to reach their final destination -- and decide whether to sit in a regular seat or at one of the tables with electrical outlets for their laptops.

The cost for all this change: a half-billion dollars.

Already more than 1,000 35W drivers have signed up for transponders that will allow them to use the bus/carpool lanes for a fee, but the benefits of the projects are likely to extend to commuters who don't ever pay a toll or switch to a bus or train.

When the reconstruction of the Crosstown Commons, a separate project, is finished a year from now, engineers are expecting to see smoother traffic not only on Hwy. 62 and 35W but also on roads such as Hwy. 100, Hwy. 169 and I-394, as well as nearby city streets.

"35W is Minnesota's busiest highway, and it's also probably Minnesota's most avoided highway for that very fact," said Nick Thompson, who's heading up that project for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Once the redo is complete, he said, drivers who previously fled will find that "35W is a great option."

Free lane during off-peak hours

Among the draws: Most stretches of the new bus/carpool/toll lanes will be open to all drivers for no cost during off-peak hours (the shoulder lane portion on northbound 35W near downtown will not). Another bonus is that the dreaded spot on southbound 35W at 46th Street where the freeway used to shrink from four lanes to three will now be five continuous lanes, Thompson said.

Express buses using 35W will be able to travel faster during congested periods because the MnPass lanes should allow them to go 50 miles per hour or more, versus the 35-mph limit that buses face when they use bus-only shoulders to bypass congestion.

Northwest of the cities, where hundreds of commuters are already catching express buses to Minneapolis, the Northstar line isn't expected to have a big effect on traffic on roads such as Hwy. 10 and I-94. But Bob Gibbons, spokesman for Metro Transit, which will operate the trains, said the estimated 3,400 one-way train rides each day will keep more than a few cars off the roads and offer a reliable commuting option for those who board.

Northstar trains will run up to 79 miles per hour, will have priority on the tracks and will be unaffected by weather or congestion, he said, meaning that the ride from Big Lake to Minneapolis should consistently take 50 or 51 minutes. From Coon Rapids, the time is 28 minutes.

Newer technologies are playing a big role in the transformation. Real-time updates on bus shelter signs in downtown Minneapolis will let commuters know how long they'll be waiting. Buses coming down Central Avenue will have the power to make green lights longer and red lights shorter. Overhead signs every half-mile on 35W will be able to close and open lanes when there's a crash and offer drivers speed recommendations based on traffic conditions.

Old technology, too

More established technologies are also being put to use -- big diesel locomotives, more asphalt for parking, and the simple idea of creating more room on sidewalks, city streets and freeways.

Starting Monday, Lakeville, a booming suburb with a population of 54,000, gets its first transit service, and with the new lanes and a separate freeway ramp, it's estimated that express buses from one of the two new park-and-ride lots will be able to get people downtown in 26 minutes -- a quicker ride than some Minneapolis bus riders have.

Overall, the metro area is getting 2,700 new park-and-ride spaces as part of the 35W project -- Lakeville and Apple Valley, as well as Blaine and Roseville. Thompson said transportation agencies were able to build a few hundred spaces more than originally budgeted because bids came in lower.

The efforts on the 35W corridor are part of a federal grant program called the Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA), which distributed a total of about $850 million to a half-dozen metro areas around the country in an effort to create innovative systems that could serve as national models. Miami finished its HOT lanes in December 2008, and the Twin Cities area is the farthest along among the remaining urban centers. New York and Chicago had to drop out because they failed to secure the "necessary legal authority" to carry out their plans; Minnesota's Legislature gave its blessing to the projects here in 2008.

The federal government paid for $133 million of the UPA's $183 million cost in Minnesota and funded $162 million of the $317 million in start-up costs for the Northstar line, which includes the Hiawatha line's extension to Target Field.

Jim Foti • 612-673-4491