The price for bus rapid transit on Cedar Avenue just got bigger. Dakota County -- already short about $11 million for the first phase of the transit project -- is now looking at a gap of as much as $20 million that needs to be filled for construction to move forward next summer and fall.

The County Board learned of the change on Tuesday after county employees revised the estimate for the first phase of the project, which includes shoulder and intersection improvements to give buses a designated shoulder lane to use between stations.

A previous figure, which estimated the 2008 cost of the project, put road construction expenses at $28.6 million. The new projected road construction cost of $35 million reflects inflationary increases and the extension of the project farther south into Lakeville, said Mark Krebsbach, Dakota County's transportation director.

That pushes the total cost for the first phase of the project, previously $76 million, to more than $82 million.

And the amount could rise even more because the latest road construction estimate does not include changes to the cost of right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation or extra streetscape amenities.

Krebsbach said the Lake- ville extension, originally part of a later phase of the project, was added after the city joined the metro area's transit taxing district in 2008. The road and intersection improvements will also connect the bus rapid transit system to a station being constructed at 181st Street in Lakeville.

The new estimate also includes about $350,000 for two noise walls in Apple Valley -- required, at least for the time being, by the federal government but unwanted by the county and the city. County commissioners, acting as the regional rail authority, approved a resolution asking the Federal Highway Administration to reconsider whether the walls are reasonable or feasible.

The federal agency, which holds the purse strings on $22 million for the project, had asked for the walls because residents of 10 nearby properties said they would like to have them.

Pursuing money all over

The county intends to begin acquiring rights of way along the corridor in August and would like to have most, if not all, of the money for the project secured by then.

Officials are hoping the project gets a $6 million federal funding boost at the request of Sen. Amy Klobuchar. The County Board hasn't had any luck in getting U.S. Rep. John Kline, who refuses to request congressional earmarks, to kick in more money.

The options don't end there. The county is also pursuing money from the regional board that dishes out portions of the quarter-cent sales tax established in 2008 to pay for transit projects. The state's bonding bill, which funnels money to capital improvement projects, is another possibility.

There is also a chance, Krebsbach said, that some other pieces of the project could come in under budget, freeing up more money for road construction costs. "There's a lot of shuffling of numbers still to be done," he said.

County commissioners have said they are confident they will find the money for the 16-mile corridor stretching from Eagan to Lakeville. So far, they have cobbled together funding from 13 sources, including a federal Urban Partnership Agreement grant that sped up some aspects of the project. Express commuter buses will start running from new stations in Apple Valley and Lakeville this fall, and another station is under construction in the Cedar Grove area at Hwy. 13 and Cedar Avenue in Eagan.

Road and intersection improvements will come in 2010 and 2011. Station-to-station service with buses in designated shoulder lanes is scheduled to begin in 2012.

Katie Humphrey • 952-882-9056