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Minnesota residents continue to back the proposed Northstar Corridor commuter rail project. Last week, more than 200 people rallied at the state capitol to voice support for the project and urge the Minnesota Legislature to approve Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s request for funding in the 2004 bonding bill.

On March 1, results from a statewide study showed 66 percent of Minnesotans support the governor’s $37.5 million funding request for the project’s 40-mile first phase between Minneapolis and Big Lake, Minn.

Conducted between Feb. 19 and Feb. 25, the poll also showed that 59 percent of Minnesotans believe highway congestion is getting worse, and 82 percent believe improvements in the transportation system will be necessary during the next 10 years to support economic growth — 73 percent of those respondents say that transit needs to be part of the transportation solution.

"These results demonstrate that the Northstar commuter rail project has evolved from a regional to a statewide issue," said Bill Morris, President of Decision Resources Ltd., which conducted the study, in a prepared statement.