A new parking ramp and skyway serving the Northstar commuter rail station in Anoka will have a grand opening Wednesday before opening for public use on Thursday.
The three-level, 344-space parking ramp is just south of the 4th Avenue station. The 58-foot-long pedestrian overpass, with elevator, will span the eastbound and westbound platforms at the station.
The 13-month project cost $10.4 million.
City officials expect the parking ramp to help develop housing and other transit-related projects on several large parcels of nearby city-owned land. Homestead, an assisted-living building, opened in December two blocks north of the station.
Wednesday's ceremony will start at 4:30 p.m. and feature speakers from Anoka County, the Metropolitan Council and other agencies involved in the project.
More than half of the work was funded by federal money. The city and the Counties Transit Improvement Board contributed about $2 million each. The other $575,000 came from the Anoka County Regional Railroad Authority.
The $1.65 million skyway is the third pedestrian bridge on the 40-mile Northstar line. The others are at the Ramsey and Coon Rapids stations.
Jim Adams
