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Met Council approves final scope of Central Corridor LRT project

Action clears the way to complete preliminary engineering

The Central Corridor light-rail transit (LRT) project achieved another important milestone Feb. 27 when the Metropolitan Council approved the final scope of the 11-mile line linking downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul.

The Council action clears the way for the project staff and consultants to complete preliminary engineering on all components of the line.  The Council and its project partners face a deadline of early September to finish this work and apply for federal permission to enter final design in 2009.

“With the help of our project partners, we have achieved a compromise that reduces the project cost and meets federal cost-effectiveness index (CEI) requirements,” said Council Chair Peter Bell. “It keeps us on track to complete a line that will provide enhanced transit service in the corridor, build transit ridership and slow the growth in traffic congestion.”

Project cost trimmed

The Council action came after the project staff developed multiple scenarios for reducing its cost to meet the CEI, after which the Council held seven information meetings and four “listening sessions” in the corridor. The Council also consulted with several advisory committees representing the project partners, and community and business groups in the corridor.

As originally proposed, the project would have cost $990 million. If all of the features advocated by various groups had been included, the cost would have grown to nearly $1.25 billion. The final project scope trims the cost to $909 million.

To enter final design and win federal matching funds, the project must have a CEI of no more than $23.99 (a ratio of annualized operating and capital costs divided by travel time saved by the riders who use it).  By trimming the cost of the project from $990 million to $909 million, the Council reduced the CEI from $26.05 to approximately $23.80.

Major elements of the project, as approved by the Council, include:

• Building the line at grade on Washington Avenue through the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus rather than through a costly tunnel, and converting Washington into a transit mall. Diverting autos would remove more than 90% of the traffic from Washington Avenue.  Project engineers are studying 48 intersections on campus and the surrounding area to determine what traffic mitigation measures would be necessary.
• Providing the underground infrastructure for three additional University Avenue stations that could be added later rather than building them now, as some community groups and local elected officials would have liked. However, the Council indicated – as recommended by the Central Corridor Management Committee – that it will consider adding one of those stations to the project yet this year should project costs go down or should the Federal Transit Administration increase the cap on the federal CEI in the next several months.
• Utilizing a diagonal route in downtown St. Paul through the block bounded by Fourth, Fifth, Minnesota and Cedar Streets, consolidating two stations into one and creating what St. Paul officials regard as a major development opportunity.
• Terminating the line at a station in front of St. Paul’s Union Depot rather than extending service to a station at the rear concourse, saving $32 million to $58 million.
• Building a vehicle maintenance facility on Ramsey County-owned land near the concourse and installing double tracks that could later be extended to the concourse, where the line might ultimately connect with buses, and possible commuter rail and intercity passenger rail lines.
• Constructing platforms to accommodate three-car rather than two-car trains, which ultimately may be needed to accommodate the heavy ridership projected for the line.

 

U of M transit mall details still unresolved

Still to be resolved is the issue of whether the Washington Avenue transit mall would be open to buses. The University of Minnesota would like all buses removed from Washington.

The Council and project staff believe this would force transit riders to transfer from bus to rail, increase travel times and increase the CEI. Because the campus stations already would be the most heavily used, this change also could force the use of three-car rather than two-car trains, adding more than $50 million to the cost of the project.  The project staff will continue to study issues relating to Washington Avenue as preliminary engineering moves forward.

Under the approved plan, the line will have a total of 15 new stations, plus five shared with the Hiawatha line in downtown Minneapolis.  It will connect with Hiawatha near the Metrodome and terminate near the new Twins ballpark at an intermodal station that also will serve the Northstar commuter rail line. Central will have a projected weekday ridership of 38,000 by 2020 and nearly 44,000 by 2030.

“As I have indicated many times, the Central Corridor LRT project is my No. 1 priority,” Bell said.  “It represents an exciting opportunity to build on the success of the Hiawatha line and provided improved access to employment, educational and economic opportunities in the heart of our region.”

The timeline for the project calls for construction to get underway in 2010, with passenger service starting by the end of 2014.

The line is a key element in the Council’s long-range plan to improve transit in the region and double ridership by 2030.  The plan includes expanding the current bus system, adding more bus-only shoulder lanes and park-and-ride lots, and developing a network of bus and rail “transitways” in heavily traveled corridors such as Central.

The Council’s project partners include the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Ramsey and Hennepin Counties, St. Paul, Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota.