Minneapolis, Met Council Bridge Difference Over LRT

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The plan to extend the Southwest Light Rail corridor overcame an obstacle Friday to keep the plan on schedule. If an agreement hadn't been reached, it could have cost the state an extra $100 million or more.

The proposed extension will go from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie. The area over the Kenilworth Channel in south Minneapolis had been the sticking point.

Gov. Mark Dayton threatened to pull $3.7 million dollars of funding from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board if they didn't come to the table with a solution. That forced them to get to work with the Metropolitan Council.

"It's a big relief, and it's a big step forward," Metropolitan Council Chair Adam Duininck said.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and the Met Council agreed a bridge is the way to cross the Kenilworth Channel, connecting Cedar Lake to Lake of the Isles. It's an area where there's currently a pedestrian trail and a freight rail line, with homes on either side.

"This has been the biggest sticking point to date," Duinick said.

The park board oversees the land. They wanted to study the impact of a tunnel, rather than a bridge.

That time would have delayed the project by 12 to 18 months and increased the cost by $100 to $150 million dollars.

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board President Liz Wielinski called Dayton's threat "a little bit of a kick in the butt."

"When you get that message that, 'Oh, we're going to cut off your funding if you don't start cooperating,' that means a big deal to everybody," Wielinski said.

The agreement reached includes a bridge north of the channel with a tunnel south of the area.

Still, not everyone approved of the plan. Signs line the lawns of homes that back up to the channel.

"The bridge is very disappointing," Jim Lenss said. "It's going to have a severe impact on the trails and the wildlife in the neighborhood."

But both sides say the regional transit implications must be at the forefront.

"I know it's really hard when change comes," Wielinski said "It's going to take awhile for people to get used to the new configuration there."

Under the agreement, the park board will have a say in the design of the bridge or bridges. And they will be brought into the process sooner for other projects down the road.

The Met Council and the park board have to vote on the agreement. Both are expected to take action at their next scheduled meeting in early March.