Dive Brief:
- The Metropolitan Council, the Minneapolis-area regional transportation and planning agency, held an informational meeting Monday for potential contractors on the $1.86 billion Southwest LRT project, indicating that construction could begin within months, according to Fox 9.
- The 14.5-mile rail line will be the biggest public works project in the state's history and will feature 15 stations, eight Park & Ride areas, almost 30 bridges and two tunnels.
- The light rail project, which is expected to be complete in 2021, will connect downtown Minneapolis to the suburb of Eden Prairie.
Dive Insight:
In May, Minnesota state lawmakers refused to approve financing — by just one vote — for the project’s $145 million funding gap as part of a Republican-led campaign to quash Democrats' proposal for a $1.8 billion bonding bill to pay for 300 infrastructure and public works projects throughout the state.
However, the Metropolitan Council and other local government agencies — with the support of Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton — took it upon themselves in September to cover the gap, enabling rail officials to apply for $900 million in federal funds. Local officials said they would still try to get state legislators to approve the $145 million spend in 2017 so that they wouldn’t have to actually finance the project. In August, the Metropolitan Council announced that total costs for the light rail project had increased to almost $1.86 billion, up $18 million from the previous figure.
Not all rail projects have to deal with such a funding nightmare, however. For example, the Federal Transit Administration announced in September that it had reached an agreement with San Diego rail officials to deliver $1.04 billion in funding over 10 years for a $2.17-billion, 10.92-mile extension of the city’s light rail trolley service. In addition, the project will get a cash boost from a half-cent TransNet tax. A joint venture including Skanska USA began construction on the rail in October, and the project is scheduled for completion in 2021.