It’s been a disappointing 16 months for community organizers and transit advocates along West Seventh Street, where a potential streetcar was taken off the table in September 2024, a new trash truck maintenance facility opened around April 1 over neighborhood objections, long-sought road improvem ents failed to gain funding in October, and the Keg and Case market at the Schmidt Brewery gradually lost all major tenants amidst bankruptcy proceedings. Could 2026 bring some badly-needed planning energy back to the corridor? Officials with the Minnesota Department of Transportation suggested as much in a letter to key elected officials earlier this week, followed by a written release on Tuesday announcing they have “some exciting news to share … in partnership with Ramsey County, the city of St. Paul and Metro Transit” who have all “reached an agreement on a shared commitment to advance needed repairs and improvements on Hwy 5/West Seventh Street.” Details remain sparse. A project website describes, in general terms, the aim of making a “generational investment” toward those goals. With the new four-way agreement in place, according to MnDOT’s written release, the partnership will “now work collaboratively to identify and pursue additional funding” to invest in a “longer-term repair” of West Seventh between Wabasha Street in downtown St. Paul and Munster Avenue, which is located by the Mississippi River near Fort Snelling. The end game, according to MnDOT, is to boost safety, traffic, sidewalks, accessibility, transit and stormwater drainage on all sections of West Seventh within those limits. The improvements likely would make West Seventh ripe for a future bus rapid transit corridor from downtown St. Paul to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, according to MnDOT. “This broader commitment to investment in West Seventh Street will allow Metro Transit to recommend this corridor for arterial Bus Rapid Transit (aBRT) to the Metropolitan Council in January 2026,” reads the letter from a MnDOT district engineer to key lawmakers. Both the letter and the public announcement are otherwise short on specifics, but they promise future updates. Potential West Seventh bus corridor scores in top three Meanwhile, Metro Transit has released its public scorecard evaluating 11 potential bus rapid transit corridors, and so far, a West Seventh route lands in the top three based on quantifiable metrics such as potential ridership, costs, “equity” and land use. A spokesperson for Metro Transit noted this month that the scoring isn’t the final word on what routes will be funded, as other considerations will be taken into account by transit planners and the Met Council, the metro’s regional planning agency, which will begin reviewing the three recommendations on Jan. 21. The 17-member Met Council may choose to adopt or reject the three bus rapid transit recommendations in February or March, and one of several variables that the Met Council is likely to take into account is the timing of future roadwork. The lines would roll out between 2030-2035, according to Metro Transit’s website. With their latest written releases, MnDOT has not publicly committed to — or rejected — a full reconstruction of West Seventh, and Metro Transit has not officially declared that the business corridor will soon host a bus rapid transit service akin to the A Line or the B Line, which traverse St. Paul with pay-before-boarding fare options at heated bus shelters, among other amenities. A spokesperson for Ramsey County on Tuesday referred all questions back to the state. Still, MnDOT’s project website notes that if funding comes together, construction of the still unspecified improvements along West Seventh Street could begin in 2029. The site invites members of the public to sign up for project email updates. A MnDOT spokesperson was not available for comment earlier this week, but the letter dated Dec. 29 from Khani Sahebjam, a MnDOT metro district engineer, to Ramsey County Board Chair Rafael Ortega, St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker, House and Senate lawmakers representing the corridor and other elected officials spells out some of the general parameters behind the new collaboration. “The extent of project improvements will continue to evolve; however, all agencies will have a stake in the near-term and long-term vision for the corridor,” reads the letter. “The city of St. Paul will update and improve underground city utilities in targeted areas, and Ramsey County will contribute to multimodal improvements on West Seventh Street. Infrastructure ownership is a part of this partnership conversation.” The partners will collaborate, according to MnDOT, to identify potential funding sources, such as state and federal grants, bonding, state general fund appropriations “and other opportunities.” “With this clear path forward, we will continue working together to refine the project scope and costs,” the letter reads. “All partners will have financial contributions to the various project elements; however, there is an expected gap in funding that partners will work to close.” Road work on hold Noecker and other advocates for West Seventh Street have long chafed at how basic road improvements — including the replacement of ash trees removed during the city’s Emerald Ash Borer crisis — have been put on hold for years while waiting to be scheduled around the $2 billion Riverview Corridor streetcar project and its associated road reconstruction, which never came together. Related Articles Letters: A minority of Somalis have brought shame to our community Videos show St. Paul police shooting man who officials say pointed gun at officers St Paul: One-sided street parking pilot moves to two new neighborhoods In town for World Juniors? Here are some things to do besides watching hockey Photos of the year: Pioneer Press photographer John Autey reflects on 2025 Metro Transit, for instance, had once envisioned rolling out a bus rapid transit corridor along West Seventh by 2016. That, too, was put on hold in favor of Riverview Corridor planning. Facing opposition over mode and alignment, Ramsey County announced in September 2024 that after more than a decade of serious effort, it would no longer coordinate planning for the proposed streetcar from downtown St. Paul to MSP. In June, the Ramsey County Board voted to redirect $730 million in future county funding from the project to other roadwork, most of it not associated with the corridor. ...read more read less