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Federal Officials Give Southwest LRT Green Light

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Construction of the Southwest Light Rail Transit line got the green light from federal officials on Wednesday.

The project is expected to create 7,500 construction jobs, and will break ground by the end of the month.

"When we built the Green Line, we saw construction workers that came from almost every county in Minnesota. Investment in transit doesn't just benefit communities across the line, it benefits families across the state," Metropolitan Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff said.

Costing more than $2 billion, this will be the largest infrastructure project in the state's history. The Southwest line will have 16 stations, serving Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, nearby Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie.

It's taken decades for the Met Council to get past critics of plans for light rail in the southwest metro.

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