Ramsey County previews Bronze Line BRT project, funding and schedule

Ramsey County county staff told the board the Bronze Line Bus Rapid Transit project represents a major local investment in transit and mobility that will be advanced through a series of agreements and design milestones. Mike Rogers, deputy director for Public Works, described the project as locally funded and emphasized the county’s financial role: "Brown's Line is a 100% local funded project. About 90% of that money is coming from Ramsey County either through our regional railroad authority levy or through the FSET county controlled sales tax." (Mike Rogers)

Staff said preliminary design work will begin in 2026 and the county will voluntarily undertake an environmental worksheet during preliminary design. Jennifer Jordan, manager of transit at multimodal, told the board the capital grant agreement that will transfer county funding to Metropolitan Council is scheduled to come before the board on Aug. 18 and that a cooperative project delivery agreement governing how the two agencies deliver the project is still being negotiated. "The capital grant agreement, that is an action that's gonna come before you on the 18th," Jordan said. (Jennifer Jordan)

Why it matters: County-funded projects of this scale carry construction impacts, long schedules and accountability questions that the board will revisit at design milestones. Staff identified next steps—returning the capital grant agreement for formal board consideration and bringing a detailed cooperative delivery agreement for future review—so the board can exercise oversight at 30%, 60% and 90% design checkpoints.