Panel will provide advice on Central Corridor LRT project
ST. PAUL (Sept. 18, 2006) - A 13-member Central Corridor Management Committee (CCMC) has been named to provide advice during the design and construction of the proposed light rail transit (LRT) along University Avenue between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis.
The committee will be headed by Peter Bell, chair of the Metropolitan Council, which selected LRT as the preferred mode for the Central Corridor in June after nearly two decades of study by an interagency committee.
“The CCMC will provide advice to the lead agencies on significant decisions relating to the scope, budget and schedule for the line,” Bell said. “It will consider issues such as possible changes in alignment, the number and location of stations, and efforts to mitigate adverse impacts during construction.”
The project partners, led by the Council and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), also include Ramsey and Hennepin Counties, St. Paul, Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota.
In addition to Bell, the members of the CCMC will be:
- Mary Hill Smith, chair of the Council’s Transportation Committee
- Ramsey County Commissioners Rafael Ortega and Toni Carter
- Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin
- St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman
- Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak
- Robert McFarlin, assistant to the commissioner of MnDOT
- Peggy Ingison, state finance commissioner
- Kathleen O’Brien, vice president of university services, University of Minnesota
- Jim Westerhaus, vice president of government relations for Ecolab, representing business
- Reynaldo Aligada Jr., an attorney in the U.S. Public Defenders Office in Minneapolis, representing the community
- Dakota County Commissioner Paul Krause, representing the regional rail authorities in the seven-county area
The CCMC will hold its first meeting at 1 p.m. Oct. 11 in the chambers of the Met Council, 390 N. Robert St. St. Paul. It is expected to meet monthly.
The CCMC also will provide an avenue for public input, which is expected to receive federal approval to enter preliminary engineering by the end of this year. The CCMC will receive regular reports from a Community Advisory Committee (CAC), which will be established later this fall.
“We will invite community, business, educational and ethnic groups along the corridor to name representatives to the CAC,” Bell said. “They will meet regularly to receive briefings, offer their ideas and provide feedback on a whole range of issues, such as station location and access, safety, parking and construction mitigation.”
The proposed 11-mile LRT line will connect five major centers of activity - the two downtowns, the state Capitol, the University of Minnesota and the Midway area. As currently proposed, the line would have 16 new stations, plus five stations shared with the existing Hiawatha LRT line in downtown Minneapolis.
Bell has warned, however, that the estimated $930 million cost of the line will have to come down if the project is to meet federal cost-effectiveness requirements and win the federal funding needed for construction. “It is clear that every cost associated with the line will have to be scrutinized, and some proposed features may need to be dropped or deferred,” he said.
The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning organization for the seven-county Twin Cities area. It runs the regional bus and light rail system, collects and treats wastewater, manages regional water resources, plans regional parks and administers funds that provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The Council is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the governor.
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Note: More information about the Central Corridor LRT project, including a map and timeline, is available on the Council’s website at www.metrocouncil.org/transportation/ccorridor/centralcorridor.htm