After years of delays and cost overruns, the Minneapolis Metro Green Line extension finally has a goal in sight and the funding to get there. In August, Hennepin County and the Metropolitan Council, the project’s lead public agency, reached an agreement to bridge the $340 million funding gap to complete the project.
“We can make sure not only that we’re finishing the project, but where the funding is coming from,” Charlie Zelle, president of the Metropolitan Council, said in a Meeting of the Management Committee for the Extension of the Green Line earlier this month. “What a difference a year makes.”
A joint venture between Lunda, based in Black River Falls, Wis., and McCrossan, based in Maple Grove, Minn., is building the light rail extension, which has doubled in cost and is nine years behind schedule.
very late
The Green Line extension was heralded with much fanfare as a key transit project to connect Minneapolis’ southwest suburbs to the city. It includes 14.5 miles of light rail tracks, 16 new transit stations, two light rail tunnels, 29 new bridges, six pedestrian tunnels, 121 retaining walls, freight train reconstruction and trail reconstruction, among others improvements
When complete, it will be part of an integrated system of transit routes, including connections to the Metro Blue Line, Northstar Commuter Rail, major bus routes and proposed future transit routes, according to the metropolitan advice
In 2011, the estimated cost of the work was $1.25 billion, with an expected opening date of 2018. However, the project has been mired in delays and cost overruns since before it began the construction The cost of the project has more than doubled to $2.7 billion, and it is now scheduled to open in 2027, according to a 2022 report. Minnesota Legislative Auditor’s Office report.
The report also concluded that about $535 million of the remaining budget to finish the project was not funded. It also found that the Council issued 658 change orders between March 2019 and October 2022, which added about $220 million in costs.
The audit involved a lot of finger-pointing. A Lunda/McCrossan spokesman told the Star Tribune that the auditor ignored critical problems with its design that led to cost overruns and delays, and that he doesn’t have the expertise to criticize the way it’s been built the line The watchdog agency said the Council failed to properly enforce various parts of its construction contract and lacked “adequate documentation to support some project decisions”.
Lunda/McCrossan did not respond to Construction Dive’s request for comment.
The project has become a political focus. In August, three Metropolitan Council members voted against the deal, and two called for more transparency in budget verification. according to the Eden Prairie Local News. Minnesota State Senator Scott Dibble told KSTP-TV that “There is no amount of money out there [the Met Council] it will not take long to complete this project”, and also stated that the metropolitan The Council “operates, out of sight, without the responsibility, transparency and management of an elected body”.
Even so, on September 13, the metropolitan The Council approved the funding agreement by voice vote.
New progress
The new agreement sets out who will pay what to finish the project, which is 75% complete. The Council agreed to cover 45% of the costs associated with the completion of construction and the commencement of fare passenger service, up to $150 million. Hennepin County will pay 55 percent, up to $190 million. If the costs go beyond these numbers, they will split it 50-50.
Hennepin County and the Metropolitan Council declined interview requests from Construction Dive.
The Metropolitan Council will also fund start-up costs to get the commuter service up and running. It also added time for members to more fully evaluate the Green Line deal and a $75.3 million grant from Hennepin County for a Blue Line extension light rail project between downtown Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The grant would fund pre-construction work until 2024, the Eden Prairie Local News reported.
The budget will be sent to the Federal Transportation Administration for review and approval in Oct. 2024, according to Green Line Extension Project Manager Jim Alexander, who spoke at the committee’s Oct. 4 meeting . He also reported that contractors have made progress in several areas, including trail improvements on portions of the South Cedar Lake and Minnesota River Bluffs trails; elements of Southwest, City West and Shady Oak stations, including parking lots, ramps and passenger drop-off areas; and track work on the Minnetonka/Hopkins Light Rail Track Bridge.
“I’m very pleased that we have it in place,” Zelle said at the meeting, adding that they are currently in the process of reviewing the budget and working with their “contractors to expedite what would have been even greater delays.”
“The most important thing is that we now have this framework on how to finance it,” he said. “I think ultimately it gives more confidence to the project and we can do what we’re doing efficiently.”
