by Dennis Dalman – news@thenewsleaders.com
The divergent diamond interchange project in Sartell has caused Metro Bus to create two separate detour routes for bus service to and from the city.
The two new routes will begin Sunday, March 31 and will continue through the fall. Both were created out of what was known as “Route 31 Sartell.”
Metro Bus’s action is necessary because of the closure of CR 120 and other construction work in the area near Epic Center, the site of Walmart, Sam’s Club and several food businesses.
The former “Route 31 Sartell” was split into two routes: a different Route 31, which will run from the St. Cloud Transit Center in downtown St. Cloud to Walmart in Epic Center, every half hour. The other newly created route, Route 32, will provide hourly service within the City of Sartelll. Passengers can transfer to or from each route by asking for a “transfer” on the first bus they board. Both routes will meet once an hour at the Sartell Walmart parking lot.
Route 31 scheduled stops include the transit center, St. Cloud Hospital and Sartell Walmart.
Route 32, which is service within Sartell, includes a large loop-route with stops at Walmart, the medical campus, Coborn’s Superstore, Sartell City Hall, North Riverside Plaza, Hi-Vue Mobile Home Park, Country Manor and CentraCare Health Plaza.
The buses connect at Walmart every hour on the half hour – for examples, 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. and so forth.
Schedules for the special detour routes, along with route maps and stops, are available at the Metro Bus Transit Center or online at www.ridemetrobus.com