Met Council Reaches Agreement with Hennepin County to fund Green Line Extension

Photo: metrocouncil.org

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County have reached an agreement in how it will close the funding gap for the Green Line Extension Light Rail Transit Line.

Metropolitan Council in a news release yesterday announced that its partnership with Hennepin County resolved the Green Line Extension funding deficit. The Green Line “will connect downtown Minneapolis with Eden Prarie, [but it] has been plagued by construction delays and cost overruns.” according to MPR News. Both the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County have worked for months to find funding and reach a resolution to “close the remaining funding gap.” The agreement states that each will share in funding the gap “in capital and startup costs.”

The agreement will have the Met Council responsible for startup costs before the line opens and then responsible for “contributing 45% of the funds needed to complete the capital construction of the project.” Its share comes from a federal capital formula program over the next few years. Hennepin County’s 55% contribution will come from transit sales tax.

With this, a new budget for the project will be sent to the FTA and “adopted early next year (2024) following an FTA financial review of the project.” The agreement is subject to approval from both the Met Council and the County Board.

While the Met Council has not released a figure in its agreement with Hennepin County, an audit report from last year shows “$535 million of the project was unfunded.”