Central Corridor LRT Project’s cost grows to $990 million to meet federal requests
Contact:
Laura Baenen
Central Corridor LRT Project
Communications Manager
651-602-1797 office
612-269-4365 cell
Laura.baenen@metc.state.mn.us
St. Paul – Jan. 9, 2008 - The Central Corridor LRT Project’s new cost estimate is $990 million, up from $932 million, largely due to federal requests that additional contingency funds be built into the project.
The Metropolitan Council still must reduce the price tag to about $840 million to meet federal cost-effectiveness requirements and obtain the needed federal matching funds. The $990 million estimate will be revised over the summer to reflect what is learned during preliminary engineering between now and then.
“The reality is this: we cannot afford to build this project unless the federal government pays half the cost,” said Peter Bell, chair of the Met Council. “And the federal government won’t partner with us unless we reduce the cost to about $840 million and meet their cost-effectiveness requirements.”
The more than $130 million contingency fund contained in the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement has been increased by $42 million at the request of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) so the project will have enough money to cover things such as unexpected field conditions and an adverse construction bidding climate. The rest of the increase is due to a rise in professional services and financing costs.
If all features desired by the project and stakeholders were incorporated into the project, they would drive the cost up to $1.25 billion.
In addition to the $990 million estimate, the cost of a University of Minnesota tunnel under Washington Avenue has risen by $110 million to $130 million due to a proposed lengthening of the 2,050-foot tunnel by 950 feet to get around the new university football stadium. The increase also is partly due to a proposal to convert the East Bank station from an open-cut station to a full underground station with mezzanine. Building the line at street level through the East Bank campus, however, would save between $128 million and $148 million in costs from the $990 million estimate.
The proposal to extend the line in downtown St. Paul to the concourse behind Union Depot would add between $32 million and $58 million to the $990 million cost estimate, depending upon which of three routes was chosen. A diagonal route through downtown St. Paul consolidating two stations into one would result in a $2.5 million cost saving.
The Met Council is to make scoping decisions Feb. 27. The scope involves features, such as the route through downtown St. Paul and whether the line would be in a tunnel or at street level through the University of Minnesota. This timetable is necessary so preliminary engineering can be completed in time to meet the FTA’s September application deadline for permission to enter final design in 2009.
Before decisions are made, the public will have opportunities at three listening sessions in February to address Met Council members. The listening sessions will follow seven public update meetings beginning Jan. 15 where attendees will have a chance to receive project updates and talk directly with project staff. See a list of Central Corridor meetings and events for times, dates and locations.
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 fourth 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 line would connect with the Hiawatha LRT line at the Metrodome station in Minneapolis and the soon-to-be built Northstar commuter rail line at the new Minneapolis multimodal station. The Metropolitan Council would be the grantee of federal funds. The regional government agency is charged with leading the design 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 commissioners from Ramsey and Hennepin counties, provides advice and oversight.
The Central Corridor LRT Project website is www.centralcorridor.org
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