Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Mass transit uses for the Rush Line Corridor from St. Paul to Hinckley got good news in Washington, D.C. last week.

A group of county commissioners representing the Metropolitan Transit Board was told by Congressman Jim Oberstar’s office $5 million has been earmarked for corridor projects in 2008.

Dennis Hegberg, Forest Lake, who represents District One on the Washington County Board joined commissioners from Ramsey, Anoka, Dakota and Hennepin counties for the visit April 24-25.

“Oberstar’s office was very cooperative,” Hegberg said of the $5 million pledge that is to be part of federal highway funding bill this year. He said the funding will be an important early step in the development of the corridor which follows the old Northern Pacific (Burlington Northern) rail corridor from the Union Depot in St. Paul to Hinckley.

“We could say to Duluth if Oberstar wants in that way,” Hegberg said.

The funding, if approved by Congress and signed into law by the president, would primarily fund Rush Line projects in the south end of the corridor — from North Branch south through Forest Lake and Hugo.

The initial funding will go to help establish express bus service, park and ride facilities and to construct turn lanes along US-61 and CR-20 where park and ride centers are built, Hegberg said.

Hegberg said he is optimistic the express bus service could be in business next year, providing to and from routes from North Branch south to St. Paul and Minneapolis. Multiple pickup locations would be provided.

The commissioner said ridership fees would cover about 80 percent of the cost to operate the bus service with the federal dollars available to help subsidize the service.

Most receptive

Hegberg said that for the most part the meetings in Washington on April 25 went well and the group receiving support. The highlight, he said, was the meeting with Oberstar’s chief of staff, Bill Richard.

Oberstar, as chair of the House Transportation Committee, is in a strong position to help greatly in the funding department, Hegberg said.

During eight hours of meetings, the delegation of commissioners and county staff had face-to-face meetings with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Congressmen Jim Ramstad, Keith Ellison, Tim Walz and John Kline.

The delegation met with staff representing Sen. Norm Coleman, Congressman Collin Peterson and Congresswomen Betty McCollum and Michele Bachmann.

It was the meeting with Bachmann’s office that was unsettling, Hegberg said.

“Our group felt we didn’t have a good meeting with her office,” he said. “I felt a little nudged.”

That was in stark contrast to her predecessor, Congressman Mark Kennedy, Hegberg said, who was readily available to hear and see local officials.

Bachmann was in floor session at the time of the delegation’s visit, Hegberg said, adding that the group did not expect to meet with her in person.

Hegberg, a fellow Republican who backed Bachmann in her bid for office last fall, said he was disappointed the delegation did not get its requested meeting with Bachmann’s transportation expert, Erika E. Nelsen.

On Monday, however, Hegberg said he made amends with Bachmann over any bad feelings.

After attending the Sixth Congressional District Republican Convention in Blaine on Saturday, Hegberg said he was assured by Bachmann that she would support the Rush Line funding proposal.

Bachmann press secretary Heidi Fredrickson released the following statement on Monday: “As you may know, Rep. Bachmann considers Dennis a personal friend, and she met with him in Blaine on Saturday. They talked about his visit to Washington, DC and Rep. Bachmann made it clear that Dennis is welcome to call on her at any time.”

County bonding

On another matter involving funding for road and transit projects, Hegberg said the $80 million bonding bill approved by the county board last week contains $12 million for W. Broadway Ave. (CR-2) improvements.

The $12 million is more than half of the estimated cost of $22 million to fix Broadway from Lake Street (US-61) in downtown Forest Lake to the I-35 interchange and the Everton Park commercial area west of the freeway.

Federal and state funds will mean an additional $8 million for the project while the balance will come from the city of Forest Lake.

Once thought to be a corridor suited for seven rotary or roundabout intersections, the entire improvement project is now hold pending more county study and planning.

Hegberg said the county can maintain the funds for up to three years. “We want to get something done within three years,” Hegberg said.

If county planners and the community can not come to an agreement soon, he said the area will risk losing the $12 million in bonding.

“That $12 million can go to Woodbury real quick,” Hegberg said, pointing to another growth area where transportation projects are there for the funding.

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