Central Corridor agreement reached, lawsuit dropped

Representatives of the Metropolitan Council and the University of Minnesota have reached agreement on a plan to protect university research facilities from vibration and electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by the Central Corridor light rail transit project. The agreement came after a lengthy series of mediation sessions conducted by retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Lebedoff. The pact still requires approval by the full Met Council and by the University Board of Regents. The lengthy agreement specifies the mitigation systems that will be used to protect university labs from vibration and EMI, establishes performance standards for those systems, provides for testing and monitoring to ensure compliance and provides for remedies if the standards are not met. As part of the agreement, the University will grant the temporary and permanent easements required for the Central Corridor project and drop the lawsuit it filed against the project in September 2009. The 11-mile, $957 million LRT line will operate on University and Washington avenues between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis, connecting with the existing Hiawatha line near the Metrodome. Construction of the project already is underway and is scheduled for completion in 2014. As discussed previously, the agreement calls for the installation of: • Floating slabs under approximately 1,450 feet of both tracks at various locations along Washington Avenue between Pleasant and Harvard Streets to absorb train-caused ground-borne vibration that might adversely affect University research labs. • Dual-split power supply beneath about 3,150 feet of tracks along Washington Avenue between the east end of the Washington Avenue bridge and Ontario Street to cancel out train-caused EMI that might adversely affect University labs. The agreement also establishes a framework for LRT construction activities, including limits for noise, dust and vibration during construction.