Metropolitan Council seeks state bonding for H Line bus rapid transit, wastewater repairs and parks match

Metropolitan Council Chair Charlie Zelle told the Senate Capital Investment Committee on Jan. 28 that the governor is recommending three targeted capital allocations for the Twin Cities region: $15 million in state bonding for the H Line arterial bus rapid transit (ABRT) capital program; $4.6 million for an inflow-and-infiltration (I&I) wastewater grant program; and $2.3 million for the regional parks and trails bonding program.

Zelle said the $15 million would build on roughly $60 million already secured for the H Line and help position the project to match future federal grants. "This additional $15,000,000 could be really helpful matching funds for future federal grants," Zelle said, noting $25 million in federal funds have already been committed through the regional solicitation.

The H Line, an east-west arterial BRT route, would run from Minneapolis through the University of Minnesota corridor to the Sun Ray Shopping Center in St. Paul, a future multimodal connection point…