FTA gives go-ahead to St. Paul

The Federal Transit Administration has granted approval to begin preliminary engineering on the Southwest Corridor light-rail transit project in Minnesota. FTA approval represents a significant step toward winning federal matching funds and building the 15-mile LRT line between downtown Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. Projected ridership on the corridor is nearly 30,000 riders each weekday by 2030, comparable to current ridership on Hiawatha LRT. "What this means in the eyes of the FTA is that we have a sound and viable project that will create jobs and benefit employers, as well as those who live and work near the transitway," said Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh. "We have the confidence of the federal government, in addition to all the local partners, that we have a project that meets the standards for moving forward amid all the projects standing in line for federal transportation dollars. The FTA's blessing is a very good sign." During preliminary engineering, the Council and project partners will finalize plans for station placement and design, refine the estimates of project costs, benefits and impacts, finalize management plans and identify and fully commit local funding sources. The PE process will take about two years and complete about 30 percent of the design work. If the project ultimately receives FTA approval to enter final design and obtains federal funding, construction of the line will begin in 2014 and operations in late 2017/2018. The corridor will pass through the cities of Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Hopkins and St. Louis Park and link with the Central Corridor line in Minneapolis, becoming the 26-mile Green LRT Line. The proposed LRT line is part of the Council's 2030 long-range plan for a network of rail and bus "transitways" to serve heavily traveled corridors in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. These transit investments are intended to improve mobility, build transit ridership, slow the growth in traffic congestion and provide opportunities for housing, job and economic development along transportation corridors. "This is a tremendous announcement as the competition for federal resources is fierce. Having Southwest LRT make the cut is incredibly important to our future economic development," said Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Klingel. As currently proposed, the $1.25 billion line would have 17 new stations and provide a link to three other rail corridors at the Target Field Station in Minneapolis, including Hiawatha, Central Corridor and Northstar.