People get ready and speak up. There’s another light-rail train a-comin’

The Metropolitan Council has created several forums to hear the public’s concerns and answer questions.

Contact:
Laura Baenen
Central Corridor LRT Project
Communications Manager
651-602-1797
Laura.baenen@metc.state.mn.us

St. Paul – May 17, 2007 -- As preliminary engineering begins on the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit project linking St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Metropolitan Council has created several forums to hear the public’s concerns and answer questions.

The Metropolitan Council, which is charged with leading the design and construction of the LRT line with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, created a Business Advisory Council and a Community Advisory Committee earlier this year. Their monthly meetings are public.

The Central Corridor LRT project office also invites the public to a special open house from 5 to 7 p.m. May 22, at Episcopal Homes – Cornelia House at 1840 University Ave. W. in St. Paul. Four more open houses will be held in June. For meeting details, visit the Central Corridor pages on the Met Council’s Website at www.metrocouncil.org/transportation/ccorridor/centralcorridor.htm

Peter Bell, chair of the Met Council, said that as the project proceeds, the Council and its project partners “will make every effort to consult with community, business and ethnic groups within the corridor and involve them in the planning process. We recognize they are concerned about such issues as station location and design, traffic, parking, safety and construction impacts.”

At the same time, Bell said, the Council is cognizant of the need “to bring down the cost of the project and meet federal cost-effectiveness requirements. These are no small hurdles and will probably require trimming some features of the proposed line.”

To meet the federal cost-effectiveness requirements, Bell said, the project cost will have to be reduced by up to $200 million during preliminary engineering. This is critical so the project can win final federal approval in 2009 and begin construction in 2010. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will fund 50 percent of the capital costs, and the other 50 percent will be paid with state and county funds. The state will provide 33 percent, Ramsey County 12 percent and Hennepin County 5 percent.

The project is budgeted at about $930 million and must be cut to about $800 million to qualify for federal funding. In addition, the FTA recommends spending another $90 million for three-car train platforms, a storage building and to account for inflation. The three most expensive proposed features of the project are a tunnel under the University of Minnesota campus (more than $150 million), making St. Paul’s Union Depot the eastern terminus (more than $70 million) and sidewalk-to-sidewalk reconstruction along University Avenue (more than $50 million). None of these features has been approved or eliminated at this stage and will be studied during preliminary engineering.

Mark Fuhrmann, the project director, is assembling staffers and consultants this spring to form the project office. One of the first hires was Robin Caufman, manager of public involvement. For now, communications and outreach staff will be located in the Met Council offices in downtown St. Paul. Later this year, a Central Corridor project office will be established along the route.

A milestone this year will be a structural analysis this summer of the Washington Avenue bridge’s ability to handle light-rail train traffic in addition to the vehicles and pedestrians that use it now to cross the Mississippi River.

The public may submit questions and comments about the design and construction of the project via the Met Council’s comment line at 651-602-1500 or by email at data.center@metc.state.mn.us .

The project involves the federal and state governments, Hennepin and Ramsey counties, St. Paul, Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota. While the Met Council’s Central Corridor project staff will answer questions about design and construction, questions about land use and business mitigation should be directed to these other groups. See a list of the project’s partners and their key contact information.

Central Corridor LRT Project
The Central Corridor Light Rail Transit project linking downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis via Washington and University avenues would be the third in a planned network of rail and bus ``transitways’’ in the Twin Cities. Construction would begin in 2010 on the planned 11-mile Central Corridor line, with service beginning in 2014. The Metropolitan Council would be the grantee of federal funds, which make up 50 percent of the project’s estimated $930 million capital cost before trimming to meet federal cost-effectiveness requirements. The regional government agency is charged with leading the designing and building of the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Central Corridor Management Committee, which includes the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the commissioners of Ramsey and Hennepin counties, provides advice and oversight.

The Central Corridor LRT Project website is www.centralcorridor.org