Three stations added to Central Corridor LRT Line
Three more stations will be added to the $941 million Central Corridor light rail transit (LRT) project, thanks to a relaxation of federal rules and a commitment of additional funds.
Funding of the three stations – on University Avenue at Western, Victoria and Hamline avenues – was announced Jan. 25 by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and local officials at a news conference in St. Paul.
The three additional stations will be on University Avenue at Hamline, Victoria and Western avenues. See map of entire Central Corridor (pdf).
The stations were not included in the original LRT plan recommended by Ramsey County in 2006 and – until now – could not be squeezed into the project budget.
Feds relax cost guidelines
The main reason was that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, employed a rigid pass/fail test to measure the cost-effectiveness of transit projects.
LaHood announced previously that he was relaxing that policy, and the Central Corridor proved to be one of the first beneficiaries. At his St. Paul news conference, LaHood announced the federal government would provide half of the $15.6 million needed to pay for the additional stations.
“I’m here today to say that the trains are going to stop here, they are going to serve this community and I am going to pay half the cost,” LaHood said.
The matching local funds will come from the City of St. Paul, the Counties Transit Improvement Board, Ramsey County and the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative, a coalition of local foundations.
Bell supports decisions, cautions about budget expansion
Peter Bell, chair of the Metropolitan Council, issued a statement applauding LaHood’s decision. “I have long indicated my commitment to add one or more infill stations to the project as soon as contingency or other funds became available,” he said.
At the same time, Bell cautioned project advocates from interpreting the relaxation of federal cost-effectiveness rules as “an invitation to add additional project elements beyond the current project scope and budget.”
“In the current fiscal climate, we cannot assume additional local dollars would be available for the local match if the budget began to dramatically escalate,” he said.
The 11-mile Central Corridor LRT line will run along University and Washington Avenues between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis, connecting with the Hiawatha line near the Metrodome. It now will have a total of 18 stations, plus five shared with Hiawatha.
The Met Council, lead agency for the project, hopes to secure FTA approval to enter final design in March and receive a commitment for 50-percent federal funding by September.
Construction would start this year and be completed by 2014. It will serve a projected 42,000 riders per weekday by 2030.