Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Location: Eagan and Apple Valley, MN

Client: SRF Consulting Group, Inc.

Owner: Dakota County

Services: Geotechnical consulting, drilling, special inspections and construction materials testing

Year: 2009-2010

The 16-mile Cedar Avenue Transitway Corridor extends from the Mall of America in Bloomington to 215th Street in Lakeville along Cedar Avenue. The project goal is to provide convenient, desirable and safe travel for all modes of traffic along Cedar Avenue including BRT, automobiles, pedestrians and bicycles.

This $135 million project includes improving the existing shoulders of Cedar Avenue, constructing three BRT stations and building a new parking ramp and lot. The BRT station at Apple Valley includes a structure for northbound and southbound traffic, with a skyway connected to each that extends over six lanes of traffic.

We were retained to perform geotechnical consulting and drilling services to improve existing shoulders for bus use and to improve and widen the existing embankment, if necessary. We also performed the inspection and testing services for the BRT stations and the parking ramp. To reduce the chance of ice buildup in heavy pedestrian areas, we removed frost-susceptible soils beneath the plaza areas and the bus pull-in lane to avoid ponding of water. The buses will be guided into the stations using computer software and sensors, and without a driver steering the bus.