[0:00] On a recent Monday in Blaine, cars and [0:03] trucks were constantly going through the [0:05] junction of 85th Avenue and Minnesota [0:09] State Highway 47, [0:11] also known as University Avenue. [0:13] >> We know that those are really dangerous [0:15] intersections. Um, we have [0:16] >> which is why Minnesota State Rep. Aaron [0:19] Kaggel [0:20] >> was happy to hear that Anoka County [0:22] received a $2 million grant from MIDOT [0:25] to improve this corridor. And we have [0:28] highway 10 that comes right off of here. [0:30] So people the speeds are pretty high. Um [0:32] we have a lot of pedestrians crossing [0:34] from in this intersection because of all [0:36] the shopping. Walmart's over there. We [0:38] have Cub over here. Um Target over [0:41] there. Um Home Depot over here. And so [0:43] people need to get around to the [0:45] different areas. You know, I think it's [0:46] been a long time coming and we're really [0:48] excited. And I'm I'm just really proud [0:50] of the fact that we were able to [0:52] coordinate the construction along the [0:54] corridor so that we aren't building a [0:57] transit line and then coming and doing [1:00] the roadway. [1:01] >> MDOT's Kent Bernard believes this is a [1:04] necessary project that will make things [1:06] better for everyone. [1:08] >> Very long overdue. There are some safety [1:10] issues on here, some speeding and some [1:12] poor driving behavior up here. And just [1:15] some of the work that we're going to be [1:16] doing on this entire stretch is going to [1:18] improve things for people and for [1:19] pedestrians and bicyclists, too. The $2 [1:22] million is going to go towards studying [1:24] and looking into the future of this [1:26] intersection to where we're going to [1:28] make this grade separated to improve [1:30] safety and improve capacity and better [1:32] freight movement and better vehicle [1:34] movement in this area. [1:37] The county, state, and Met Council are [1:40] collaborating on this project, which [1:42] includes an Fline for bus rapid transit. [1:45] >> We are getting a loan from Met Council [1:47] for $250 million to bump up the [1:50] construction and redesign of University [1:53] Avenue in Central in anticipation for [1:56] that Fline. [1:57] >> They hope to start work in 2030 [2:01] in Blaine. I'm Eric Nelson, North Metro [2:04] TV News.