Rochester Public Transit hosts meet and greet Link Rapid Transit performers

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) — On Thursday, community members had the chance to meet the artists who will transform Rochester’s transit stations.

Artists, RPT staff and community members gathered at Café Aqui in Rochester to get an inside look at the new Link Rapid Transit.

The project is a proposed 2.8 mile bus rapid transit route along 2nd Street SW. The bus will arrive every five minutes on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and will arrive every 10 minutes at other times.

RPT staff recruited artists to create pieces for the stations. Their art will be featured on the glass of the station, along the path and along the columns.

“This [the design] is an imagery, the landscape of Rochester. Some of the elements are related to local plants, mainly with Native Americans. Plants, for them, were not just about substance, but about social interactions, gatherings and rituals. So I want to pay tribute to them,” said artist Pricila DeCarvalho.

The 2nd Street SW Corridor is one of the busiest corridors in the City of Rochester, carrying nearly 22,000 vehicles and 13,000 transit riders each day. Construction is expected to start in 2024 and the bus line is expected to start operating in 2026.

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