Feds approve Central Corridor LRT mitigation plan

A promise to fund an additional station, approval of a budget of up to $941 million, and award of a contract to start public utility relocation in downtown St. Paul capped a banner month in August for the Central Corridor LRT Project.

Developments included:

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved the project’s plan -- included in its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) -- to mitigate adverse impacts created by construction.
The FTA agrees to reimburse the project’s funding partners for 50% of the cost of relocating public utilities under Fourth Street in downtown St. Paul, if the federal agency approves a Full Funding Grant Agreement next year.
The Metropolitan Council approved the adequacy of the FEIS as required under state law.

The actions allow the project to apply for federal permission to enter final design later this fall.

“These developments signal the strength of our bid to secure federal funding to build the Twin Cities’ second light-rail transit line,” Metropolitan Council Chair Peter Bell said.

Downtown Minneapolis Ballpark Station and Hiawatha LRT train

When completed, Central Corridor LRT will terminate at the Downtown Minneapolis Ballpark Station, pictured here with a Hiawatha LRT train. The Hiawatha tracks were recently extended four blocks north to the Ballpark Station, where it will meet Northstar Commuter Rail when that service opens on November 16.

St. Paul commits to fund additional station

The City of St. Paul said it intends to commit $5.2 million to the Central Corridor project budget to pay for building one of three additional infill stations. Ramsey County commissioners said they will go to their board to fund an FTA-required environmental review of how an additional station would affect the project.

Council adjusts project scope and budget

In late July, the FTA issued its annual adjustment for the Cost Effectiveness Index, a measure used to evaluate and prioritize federal funding of transit projects. Subsequently, the Met Council voted to incorporate scope elements previously not included worth about $14 million and additional financing expense of $9 million. This resulted in a revised project budget of up to $941.3 million.

Project elements that will be funded out of the inflation-adjustment dollars include:

Facade improvements to the existing Diamond Products building in Lowertown St. Paul that will be converted to the Central Corridor operations and maintenance facility ($1.5 million).
Acquisition of the vacant Bremer Bank building and site for the diagonal 4th and Cedar Street station ($7.8 million).
University of Minnesota vibration and electro-magnetic mitigation ($4.8 million).

In August, the FTA awarded a 2009 federal grant in the amount of $24.75 million ($19.8 million federal/$4.95 million local match) to the Met Council to advance design and engineering on the Central Corridor. This is part of the overall federal participation for the project. It is another signal from the FTA that the project is well positioned to secure a Full Funding Grant next year.

Council awards contract for utility relocation

The Council awarded a $12.5 million advanced utility contract to Carl Bolander & Sons to relocate public utilities in downtown St. Paul. The contract has a 15% Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goal, which Bolander has committed to meet.

Region’s rail network grows

Yer Yang, Shannon Guy, Rita Rodrigues and Joey Browner talking at Fairview and University avenues bus stop.

Yer Yang (far left) and Shannon Guy (mid-left), both of St. Paul, talk with community outreach coordinators Rita Rodriguez and Joey Browner about the Central Corridor LRT line at the bus stop at Fairview and University avenues.

Central Corridor LRT will link downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis along Washington and University avenues via the state Capitol and University of Minnesota. Construction will begin in 2010 on the planned 11-mile line.

When the line opens in 2014, it will create a 60-mile passenger rail network in the greater Twin Cities area. Central Corridor and Hiawatha LRT and Northstar commuter rail all will terminate at the new Downtown Minneapolis Ballpark Station adjacent to the new Minnesota Twins stadium at the western edge of downtown Minneapolis. Central Corridor LRT will be the busiest rail line with 42,000 daily riders forecast in 2030.

Hiawatha has been in operation since June 2004. Northstar will open for service on Nov. 16 this year.

The Metropolitan Council will be the grantee of federal funds, and will build the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Central Corridor Management Committee, which includes the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis, commissioners from Ramsey and Hennepin counties, and the University of Minnesota, provides advice and oversight.