27-02-2025
Added funding under consideration for Rochester's Link rapid transit project
Feb. 26—ROCHESTER — The state Destination Medical Center Corp. board is holding a special meeting at 1 p.m. Friday to consider additional funding for the creation of Rochester's Link Bus Rapid Transit system .
The Rochester City Council is slated to review contractor bids for construction and other aspects of the project, which has had a $145 million estimated price tag.
The project was awarded nearly $85 million in federal funding, with state and county DMC funds related to transit approved to cover the remaining anticipated costs.
The federal grant led to the required addition of a $17 million contingency fund for the project, and Deputy Rochester City Administrator Cindy Steinhauser said some bids for work to complete the project, as well as land prices, came in higher than expected.
The added expenses will require the DMCC board to approve additional funding from the initiative's transit reserves.
The Rochester City Council is expected to review bids Monday, with the staff recommending rejection of some bids due to "irregularities and good faith errors." The council is also being asked to seek new bids for the project.
According to the 2025 report to the Minnesota Legislature, the DMC effort secured $15 million in state transit aid and $22 million in county transit aid through 2024. It's a portion of the $69.6 million in state transit funding and $46.4 million in county funding expected by the end of the DMC initiative.
The unexpected costs for the planned Link system isn't the first time the budget for the DMC-funded transit project has changed.
In 2021, a proposed the U.S. Department of Transportation budget included $56.1 million, for the transit project, which had an anticipated $114 million price tag at the time.
Less than a year later, project estimates rose to $146.8 million with an expanded route to create a western hub near the intersection of Third Avenue Southeast and Sixth Street.
The potential budget could have been higher, with earlier proposals extending the north-south section of the route to the former Seneca Foods canning facility site near the intersection of Third Avenue Southeast and 12th Street.
Other past plans considered before the current bus-based system was developed, included proposals for a ground level and elevated light-rail systems through downtown, with the bus option selected as a system that could provide flexibility if the route needs to change in the future.
Link's current planned 2.8-mile route through downtown will include designated transit lanes along Second Street, between Avalon Cove Court Southwest and Third Avenue Southeast, as well as approximately four blocks south on Third Avenue.
Seven transit stations are being developed. Planned locations are:
* The planned West Transit Village development on what in currently Mayo Clinic's west shuttle lot on Second Street Southwest near Cascade Lake
* Near the 19th Avenue Southwest intersection of Second Street
* Near Saint Marys Hospital
* Near the Sixth Avenue Southwest intersection with Second Street
* Near the Second Avenue Southwest intersection with Second Street
* Near the Mayo Civic Center
* Near the intersection of Third Avenue Southeast and Sixth Street.
The West Transit Village and Sixth Street Southeast sites will serve as endpoints to the dedicated route, with other stations offering boardings in each direction every 5 minutes during peak periods and every 10 minutes during other times, including weekends.
Peak periods are expected to be from 6 a.m. to 9 a .m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, with service operations anticipated from 5 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and 8 a.m. to midnight on weekends.
Service will be provided with specially designed 60-foot electric buses offering at-grade entrance, with rider amenities expected to include charging ports for cellphones and other devices.
The system is being designed to operate without fares. The majority of operating expenses will be covered by state and federal transit funds, with Mayo Clinic agreeing to fill the funding gap for 20 years.
