Tag: SWLRT

Hennepin County advances Southwest LRT project with funding approvals

Credit: David Joles, Star Tribune

At special meetings this afternoon, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners and Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority approved up to $435 million for early construction activities and other expenditures for the Southwest Light Rail Transit project (SWLRT).

These actions enable the Metropolitan Council to award the construction contract to begin work on the $2.03 billion transit line, which they are expected to do later today.

The county board also approved a commitment, as requested by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), for up to an additional $200.3 million for Southwest LRT, or 10 percent of the total project budget, in the event of funding shortfalls or cost increases, with a parallel commitment for the Bottineau Light Rail Transit project. Continue reading “Hennepin County advances Southwest LRT project with funding approvals”

Representative-Elect Dean Phillips Expresses Full Support for the Southwest Light Rail Project

EXCELSIOR, MN — Congressman-elect Dean Phillips released the following statement today after SouthWest Light Rail received a letter of no prejudice from the Federal Transit Administration that allows the organization to begin soliciting construction contracts:

For too long, Minnesota has sent more money to Washington than has been returned. This is a rare opportunity to correct that course.

I have been, and will continue to be, a vocal advocate for infrastructure investments, including the SouthWest and Bottineau Light Rail lines, for Minnesota’s Third District. The $1 billion investment in SouthWest Light Rail will spur job growth, provide access to employment, and incentivize further economic development in communities along the line. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress, the Minnesota legislature, and the Walz administration to ensure these important projects are completed.

Bid farewell to a representative who’s been no help with light rail

U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen is an absentee congressman on so many critical issues — from climate change to gun-violence prevention and controlling assault weapons — that the time for change is long overdue. But after Paulsen’s complete and total inaction and rank partisanship in the face of a chance to expand not one but two light-rail lines in his district, voters should wish him well in his next endeavors.

The Third District is composed of the west metro’s largest suburbs, including Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka and Plymouth, and home to both the Southwest and Bottineau light-rail projects. Both lines have been planned for years. Each line has received multiple approvals from each of the nine cities through which they run. The only funding that remains to be received is from the Federal Transit Administration, which mysteriously refuses to allocate the money Congress has awarded specifically for the purpose.

It is clear that Paulsen has never assisted with any part of Southwest or Bottineau. Instead, he stands idly by while more than $3 billion in infrastructure remains tied up in bureaucracy. That’s $3 billion — more than three U.S. Bank Stadiums’-worth of jobs and physical infrastructure. Continue reading “Bid farewell to a representative who’s been no help with light rail”

Rep. Erik Paulsen and Southwest Light Rail

Asking Paulsen to take a position on this is clearly asking too much

The July 26 editorial “Southwest LRT needs friend in GOP” calls on U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen to become a supporter of this rail line, which would largely run through his district. It is also a highly contentious matter.

A couple of months ago, I called Paulsen’s Eden Prairie office and asked his staff person about Paulsen’s position on Southwest LRT. He responded that Paulsen had no position because it was not a federal matter. I responded that this was curious, since a billion dollars of federal money is involved. He reiterated that Paulsen had no position.

Paulsen has obviously been walking a narrow plank because he knows that either pro or con on Southwest LRT will alienate many in his district.

Bill Hay, Edina
Star Tribune, July 27, 2018

Losing federal transit funds would be a shame

The following commentary by Peter Dorsen was printed in the Eden Prairie News May 18, 2017:

I truly recognized why I was not a Republican when I was appointed to the WHite House Commission on Aging by former Sen. David Durenberger. They advocated discontinuing Meals on Wheels for us seniors. I quit.

Equally reprehensible in a different way is the GOP-endorsed transportation bill that contains cuts in funding to Metro Transit for the Southwest Light Rail Transit. All I know is now way I’m heading into Minneapolis except in a comfortable seat on a Southwest Transit bus with a friendly driver and WiFi. I confess, whoever, I love trains. Continue reading “Losing federal transit funds would be a shame”

Pay high taxes, get congested roads

Has your commute been a lot longer over the past two weeks? Mine, too.

I guess this is what our highway system can handle when few drivers are on vacation. For those of us in the southwest metro, the Crosstown Freeway and Interstate 494 are already beyond capacity during the four hours formerly known as rush hour.

It’s only going to get worse. The anticipated population growth is going to add many more cares in the next 20 years. And if the Republican-controlled Legislature has its way, there will be no fix for the congestion. There will only be more transit users getting on the road. Continue reading “Pay high taxes, get congested roads”

Southwest LRT gets a positive sign from Washington

The following article by Janet Moore was posted on the Star Tribune website May 1, 2017:

$10M in federal budget deal seen as a sign the full $928M will be OK’d for Southwest rail.

The Southwest light-rail line was allocated $10 million in the temporary federal budget being considered by lawmakers in Washington — news that the Metropolitan Council says is a sign the project will win its full $928 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) later this year.

The fate of the $1.9 billion line, which would connect downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, had been unclear since President Donald Trump’s initial transportation budget proposal did not fund new mass transit projects in the fiscal year. Without the federal money, it was unlikely that Southwest could move forward. Continue reading “Southwest LRT gets a positive sign from Washington”

It’s time to move forward on Southwest line

The following commentary by Hennepin County Commissioner Jan Callison appeared in the April 27, 2017 issue of the Eden Prairie News and other publications in Hennepin County:

As them their plain.  You know, the folks who write the editorials and sign the letters.  As them, after they stop Southwest Light Rail Transit, how the propose to address Twin Cities transportation needs.

As them how they intend to alter our road system to accommodate the 700,000 new residents who are expected in the region by 2040.

Ask them about their commitment to economic competitiveness, and their proposal to attract young workers who strongly desire transit options or to accommodate older residents who no longer wish to drive. Continue reading “It’s time to move forward on Southwest line”

War of words over Southwest light-rail transit line grows

The following article by Janet Moore was posted on the Star Tribune website April 22, 2017:

In office just three months, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao has already received an earful from Minnesota officials about the controversial $1.9 billion light-rail line.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has heard from both sides about the $1.9 billion Southwest light-rail line project.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao has been in office just under three months, and she’s already received an earful from Minnesota legislators about the controversial $1.9 billion Southwest light-rail line. A new salvo in the transit saga was released this week.

On March 17, 84 Minnesota GOP legislators wrote Chao urging her to block $928 million in federal funding for the Southwest LRT project, which would connect downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie. They argued that the line “would recklessly consume scarce transit resources.” Continue reading “War of words over Southwest light-rail transit line grows”

Minn. Republicans want feds to deny $900M in Southwest rail funds

The following article by Brian Bakst was posted on the MPR website March 22, 2017:

Minnesota Republicans want President Trump’s transportation secretary to deny Minnesota almost $900 million in requested funding for the Minneapolis-to-Eden Prairie Southwest Corridor light rail project.

It would upend a project that has been working through stages of approval for almost a decade.

Opponents of what would be the biggest-ever public works project in Minnesota have done everything they could to stop it. They fought Southwest light rail before city government, blocked clearance at the state Capitol and went to court.

But this might be the biggest threat yet. Continue reading “Minn. Republicans want feds to deny $900M in Southwest rail funds”