Blue Line to shut down for 12 days to kick off major maintenance work

The entire length of the Blue Line will shut down for 12 days starting Monday night, meaning riders will need to catch buses that will fill in for trains or find alternate routes to take.

Metro Transit is embarking on the first phase of a multiyear project that will rank as the agency’s largest maintenance effort in its history, said Brian Funk, Metro Transit’s chief operating officer.

From 10 p.m. Monday until trains resume running the morning of Oct. 4, buses will shuttle passengers along the 11-mile line and stop at or close to light-rail stations. Buses will operate more frequently than trains — running every 8 to 15 minutes — but trips will take significantly longer, Funk said.

“We are not leaving anybody high and dry,” Funk said. Buses will operate on all segments, but “it will take longer depending on where they are going.”

Schedules posted on Metro Transit’s website show a southbound Blue Line trip from Target Field to the end of the line at Mall of America takes about 40 minutes. That trip by bus could take 80 minutes, Funk said.

Riders may find the D Line, a rapid bus line from Brooklyn Center to downtown Minneapolis and continuing to Mall of America, to provide competitive travel times, Funk said.

Riders can help speed up trips by buying fares on the Metro Transit app rather than paying at the fare box, Funk said.

Other than for emergency shutdowns lasting from a few hours to a few days, this will be the first time the line, from end to end, will close at once for this long, Funk said.

Metro Transit chose the two-week period to carry out the work because there are no Twins or Vikings games at home or “mega events” on the schedule, Funk said.

With the amount of work that needs to be done, Metro Transit could not keep trains running, Funk said.

“We cannot do that with the extensive work that needs to be undertaken,” he said. “We need to take care of our rail system.”

Over the 12 days, crews will replace worn and damaged tracks along the entirety of the line. They also will replace several switches that allow trains to travel between tracks in the Cedar-Riverside area. Metro Transit also will power-wash stations and repair broken glass.

This round of maintenance is preview of what is to come as Metro Transit works to keep the 20-year-old light-rail line that runs from downtown Minneapolis to Mall of America in good operating condition. Next summer, riders will face a 45-day closure, with a 53-day shutdown scheduled in 2027.

The $80.2 million restoration project will continue next summer with a much-needed signal upgrade. The equipment installed when the line opened in 2004 is at the end of its lifecycle. A full renovation of the Lake Street/Midtown Station is on the schedule for next year, with Franklin Avenue the year after. Other platforms will get new lighting, real-time signage, glass replacement and other work to make stations safer and more comfortable.