SouthWest Transit’s temporary facility at SouthWest Station in Eden Prairie — including the long, plywood tunnel between the parking ramp and the boarding area — will soon disappear.
The local transit agency will be operating out of the new and permanent facilities at SouthWest Station along Technology Drive starting Monday, May 1.
Riders using SouthWest Station will access the new station from Level 2 of the parking ramp, according to a news release from SouthWest Transit. From May 1 through May 5, SouthWest will deploy “facility guides” to help direct riders to the new area.
It signals the completion of the permanent station and boarding area built by the Metropolitan Council as part of its project to connect Eden Prairie with Minneapolis via light-rail transit (LRT).
The new station will serve SouthWest Transit’s commuter bus and SW Prime services, and eventually Metro Transit’s LRT.
The temporary station in use since January 2020 will be demolished almost immediately. Photo by Mark Weber
Also disappearing soon is the plywood tunnel connecting the temporary station with the parking ramp. Photo by Mark Weber
Riders will use the new boarding area for the first time on May 1. Photo courtesy of SouthWest Transit
“We are excited to be part of this major milestone,” Maria Mancilla-Diaz, SouthWest Transit’s chief administrative officer and interim CEO, said in the news release. “Metro Transit and SouthWest Transit have partnered to deliver to the community a great facility that will complement SouthWest Transit’s express and micro-transit operations and Metro Transit’s light-rail operations.”
The Metro Council’s demolition of the temporary station that’s been in use since Jan. 6, 2020, will begin “as soon as possible,” Mancilla-Diaz.
SouthWest Transit provides public transit service for Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, and Chaska, as well as express bus service to Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota.