Metro D Line (Minnesota)

Metro D Line
Metro D Line bus at Brooklyn Center Transit Center.
Overview
System	Metro
Operator	Metro Transit
Vehicle	New Flyer XD60[1]
Status	Operational
Began service	December 3, 2022; 18 months ago (2022-12-03)[2]
Predecessors	Route 5
Route
Route type	Bus rapid transit
Locale	Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota
Start	Brooklyn Center Transit Center
Via	Emerson Avenue, Fremont Avenue, Chicago Avenue
End	Mall of America
Length	18.5 mi (29.8 km)[3]
Stations	40 (8 one-way station pairs)
Service
Ridership	23,600 (2030 average weekday estimate)[3]
Route map Legend Brooklyn Center Transit Ctr. Xerxes & 56th Ave MN 100 Brooklyn & 51st Ave Osseo & 47th Ave (future) C Line via Penn Ave 44th Ave & Penn 44th Ave & Girard Fremont & 42nd Ave Fremont & Dowling Fremont & 35th Ave ↓ Fremont │ Emerson ↑ Lowry 26th Ave West Broadway Plymouth ↓ Fremont │ Emerson ↑ 7th St & Bryant I-94 C Line via Olson Southwest LRT 7th St & Olson/5th Ave Downtown fare zone ↓ 8th St │ 7th St ↑ I-394 Ramp A/7th St Transit Ctr. Hennepin Nicollet Orange Line at Marq2 corridor 3rd/4th Ave Park C Line turnback ↓ 8th St │ 7th St ↑ Downtown fare zone Chicago & 14th St I-35W / I-94 Chicago & Franklin Chicago & 24th St Chicago & 26th St Midtown Greenway Chicago Lake Transit Ctr. B Line Chicago & 34th St Chicago & 38th St (Future) Portland │ Park & 38th St Chicago & 42nd St Chicago & 46th St Chicago & 48th St Minnehaha Creek Chicago & 52nd St Chicago & 56th St Portland & 60th St MN 62 Portland & 66th St Portland & 70th St Portland & 73rd St Portland & 77th St I-494 American & Chicago American & Bloomington MN 77 American & Thunderbird Mall of America Blue Line Green Line Red Line All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit ← {{{previous_line}}}  {{{system_nav}}}  {{{next_line}}} →

The Metro D Line is a bus rapid transit line in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. The 18.5-mile (29.8 km) route primarily operates on Fremont and Chicago Avenues from Brooklyn Center through Minneapolis to the Mall of America in Bloomington.^[4] As part of BRT service, the D Line features "train-like amenities" including improved station facilities, off-board fare payment, modern vehicles, fewer stops, and higher frequency.^[5] The current alignment would substantially replace the existing Route 5, the highest ridership bus route in Minnesota.

Portions of the local bus Route 5 were identified for bus rapid transit improvements by Metro Transit in 2013. Other corridors were developed first such as the Metro A Line which opened in 2016. Following an agreement by the city of Minneapolis to align the Bottineau LRT away from the center of north Minneapolis, Metro Transit agreed to prioritize the Penn Ave and Emerson-Fremont Avenues corridors as next in line for project development. While the Penn Ave corridor became the Metro C Line, the Emerson-Fremont corridor was combined with the Chicago Ave corridor to make up the full extent of Route 5 and became the D Line. Project development began in 2017 and after some delays, full project funding was identified in 2020. Construction began in 2021 and the line opened on December 3, 2022.