Met Council aims to cut $341 million from Southwest LRT project
Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
Metropolitan Council
Minnesota's Metropolitan Council's Southwest Project Office is analyzing options for cutting $341 million in costs for the Green Line light-rail extension from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie.
In late April, the project office released an analysis, which showed that soil test results and project delays have increased the cost of the light-rail project to $1.994 billion, a $341 million increase.
The analysis also determined that construction would not begin until 2017 instead of 2016 and the ultimate opening date of the Green Line extension would be delayed from late 2019 to 2020. These delays create roughly $50 million of the cost increase due to anticipated inflation.
“We are receiving strong direction from our partners, including local communities, to identify cost-savings so that light rail will work in the corridor,” said Adam Duininck, chair of the Met Council and the Southwest Corridor Management Committee. “In the coming weeks, our project office will be working with our partners to put forward a range of cost-cutting options for the Corridor Management Committee and other stakeholders to consider. We will also be reviewing the transit options such as enhanced bus service and bus rapid transit.”
On May 6, members of the Counties Transit Improvement Board and the Corridor Management Committee urged the council to focus on the light-rail option.
“This is the route we should stick with,” said Edina Mayor Jim Hovland, a member of the Southwest Corridor Management Committee. “Keep in mind that we are building a 52-mile regional light-rail transit system. This is a job-rich corridor with significant population and job growth forecasted. Figure out a way to reduce the costs of the project by $341 million.”
Potential cost savings presented at a special meeting this week included park and rides at $50,000 to $93 million; Stations at $4 million to $426 million; landscape, art and furnishing at $550,000 to $18 million; trail structures at $250,000 to $36 million and additional revenue service delay at a savings of up to $10 million.
If the council decides to move ahead, the project will aim for publication of a Final Environmental Impact Statement during spring 2016 and a signed Full Funding Grant Agreement by fall 2016.
The committee will meet twice in June to compare transit options and to hear about a third-party review of the project office’s construction cost estimates and its technical capacity to deliver the project. On July 1, the committee is scheduled to recommend a mode and, if LRT is chosen, an adjusted project scope and budget to the Council.
