Metro Transit Blue Line shuts down for nearly 2 weeks: What you need to know

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File photo of Metro Transit Blue Line.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Starting Monday night, the Metro Blue Line will be out of service for nearly two weeks due to maintenance, requiring riders to use the bus or find alternative routes. 

Metro Blue Line closure

Local perspective:

Starting at 10 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22, the entire Blue Line will be closed until Saturday, Oct. 4. Replacement buses will be available to travelers, though Metro Transit officials are urging riders to plan ahead as trips are expected to take longer than usual. 

The closure is part of the "Renew the Blue project", a multi-year effort to improve, upgrade and maintain the line. Monday’s closure is the first of three phases for the tracks and signals portion of the project. Crews will work on replacing track along the entire Blue Line corridor and several track switches in the Cedar-Riverside area. 

Once this phase of construction is done, Metro Transit says services will run faster, with trains running every 12 minutes starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4. 

What's next:

The next phase of the tracks and signals project is scheduled for June 2026. A full closure of the line is expected for 45 days. 

The Blue Line provides more than 17,000 rides a day. The Blue Line travels from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.