“We know that those are really dangerous intersections,” said Minnesota State Rep Erin Koegel (DFL).
Which is why Koegel was happy to hear that Anoka County received a $2 million grant from MnDOT to improve this corridor.
“I think it’s been a long time coming and we’re really excited,” Koegel said. “I’m just really proud of the fact we were able to coordinate the construction along the corridor so that we are building a transit line and then doing the roadway.”
This intersection of highways is in a key spot in Anoka County.
“We have highway 10 that comes right out to here,” Koegel said. “The speeds are pretty high. We have a lot of pedestrians crossing in this intersection because of all the shopping. Walmart’s over there. We have Cub over here. Target over there. Home Depot over here. People need to get around to different areas.”
F line bus route coming
MnDOT’s Kent Barnard believes this is a necessary project that will make things better for everyone.
“Very long overdue,” Barnard said. “There are some safety issues here. Some speeding and some poor driving behavior up here. Just some of the work that we’re doing on this stretch is going to improve things for people and pedestrians and bicyclists too…The $2 million is going to go toward studying it and looking into the future of this intersection where we’re going to make this grade separated to improve safety and improve capacity and better freight movement and better vehicle movement in this area.”
The county, state and Met Council are collaborating on the effort which includes an F line for bus rapid transit. They hope to start work in 2030.
“We are getting a loan from Met Council for $250 million to bump up the construction and redesign of University Avenue and Central in anticipation for that F line,” Koegel said. ”
According to MnDOT there will be public input on this project.
