MN-2025-001

Application purpose: The purpose of this award is to provide funding for the City of Rochester's Link Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

The Link BRT project supports City and Destination Medical Center (DMC) goals for increasing transit mode share, enhancing livability, and facilitating economic development.

At present, more than 70 percent of commuter trips to downtown occur via motor vehicle.

To accommodate future growth in jobs, homes, retail, and hotels, Rochester aims to have 50 percent of commuter trips travel to downtown by modes other than single-occupancy automobile by 2030.

This includes transitioning the proportion of commuters arriving by transit from the current 10 percent to 30 percent.

This will be achieved by creating multimodal transit, walking, and bike connections and a network of walkable streets linked to public spaces.

Link Rapid Transit, the first phase of a new rapid transit system, will be a key component of this strategy.

Link Rapid Transit will streamline current transit service in the 2nd Street SW corridor by replacing several shuttles currently operated by Mayo Clinic and providing dedicated transit lanes along most of the route to accommodate Link and local RPT buses that serve the corridor.

Activities performed: The activities to be performed are:

- Site demolition and utility work
- Construction of guideway stations and an addition to the current bus maintenance facility
- Installation of signal modifications along 2nd St SW to accommodate transit signal priority systems
- Procurement of 12 60-ft articulated battery electric buses and associated on-route charging infrastructure
- Procurement of professional services for project development, project management for design and construction, construction administration and management, insurance, legal surveys, testing, investigation, inspection, and start-up.

Expected outcomes: The expected outcome of the Link BRT project is to provide high-quality downtown public transportation service for residents, commuters, businesses, patients, students, and visitors that will support the City of Rochester and DMC district transportation, economic development, and livability goals and substantially increase public transportation use downtown.

Converting existing traffic lanes into a dedicated BRT guideway will substantially increase the transit capacity and person throughput of the 2nd Street SW corridor while minimizing right-of-way impacts that would result from building additional lanes and avoiding the need for increased parking capacity.

In addition to providing dedicated transit lanes, the Link Rapid Transit project will improve transit station infrastructure in the corridor.

Intended beneficiaries: The intended beneficiaries are residents, commuters, businesses, patients, students, and visitors of the City of Rochester.

Subrecipient activities: None.

City Of Rochester

FUND PROJECTS WHEN THE TOTAL PROJECT COST IS LESS THAN $400MILLION AND TOTAL SMALL STARTS FUNDING SOUGHT IS LESS THAN $150MILLION TO CONSTRUCT NEW FIXED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS (LIGHT RAIL COMMUTER RAIL ETC.); AN EXTENSION TO AN EXISTING SYSTEM; THE CONSTRUCTION OF A FIXED GUIDEWAY BRT SYSTEM; OR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CORRIDOR-BASED BRT SYSTEM.

20.500 - Federal Transit Capital Investment Grants

FTA Region 5 [DOT - FTA]

FTA Office of Budget and Policy [DOT - FTA]

Minnesota United States

State-Wide

NOT APPLICABLE