06-05-2025
New $21.3 million Link contract approved for $175.5 million rapid-transit project
May 5—ROCHESTER — A new construction contract for street-level work along the planned Link Bus Rapid Transit route reduces the project's overall potential cost by $4.4 million, compared to an earlier proposed contract.
The Rochester City Council approved a nearly $21.3 million contract on Monday with Rochester-based Elcor Construction for street, sidewalk and landscaping work related to the $175.5 million project.
Work covered by the contract is along the planned 2.8-mile route through downtown Rochester, covering Second Street, between Avalon Cove Court Southwest and Third Avenue Southeast, as well as approximately four blocks south on Third Avenue.
The contract comes two months after the council rejected an $83 million bid for work that also included the creation of a pedestrian tunnel under Second Street Southwest and connected transit center near Saint Marys Hospital and work on transit stations along the project.
Steve Sampson Brown, Rochester's director of construction, reports dividing the project into two contracts led to a lower-than-expected bid for the work approved Monday.
"The low bid received is approximately ($4.44 million) under our consultant's estimate," he wrote in a report to the council.
The report also estimates the second half of the work from the earlier rejected contract will cost $57.3 million. The contract for that work remains to be seen by the council.
Approximately $58 million the project's current $175.5 million budget already spent by March in securing 60-foot electric buses and preparing for construction, according to Sampson Brown.
The project is being funded with $84.9 million in approved Federal Transportation Administration funds, with the majority of the remaining cost being covered through state and county Destination Medical Center transit funds.
In March, the City Council approved a nearly $7.7 million contract with Elcor Construction for planned development of public spaces and amenities at the West Transit Village. The contract was approximately $1.4 million less than the estimated cost of the work, which includes the creation of a transit center plaza south of Cascade Lake.
Work on the overall project is expected to start in mid- to late-June, according to project manager Josh DeFrang.
In addition to the planned West Transit Village plaza, the Link project will include stations:
* 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.
The transit system is expected to be operational in the spring or summer of 2027.
