Tim Walz to engage BNSF again regarding Robbinsdale's stretch. 81 - a move that prompted Mayor Bill Blonigan to oppose the project after years of support.īlonigan says the council should ask Minnesota's congressional delegation and Gov. Previous plans featured a station in Robbinsdale in the BNSF corridor, but the stop is now located in the middle of Hwy. So far, $132 million has been spent on the project. The previous iteration was expected to cost $1.5 billion to build, but the current price tag is unclear. The new route calls for light-rail trains to to travel on West Broadway through north Minneapolis, and mostly along Hwy. Initial plans for the Blue Line extension involved sharing much of the route with BNSF Railway freight trains, but after years of futile negotiations with the Texas-based rail giant, the council abandoned the route in 2020 and started over. But the law is vague if a disagreement persists. If a city or county votes a plan down, state law says it must suggest "specific amendments" for review by the Met Council. In 2016, Crystal did not vote on a different alignment for the Blue Line extension, avoiding a challenge to the state law. "I'm not confident our concerns will be addressed." "None of the designs or concepts they've brought to us have fallen into the realm of what we asked for," he said Friday. "I'm not in support of this line, and I'm not ready to move forward," said Crystal Mayor Jim Adams during the Blue Line Extension's Corridor Management Committee meeting Thursday.Īdams is mostly concerned that light rail will result in fewer traffic lanes on busy Hwy. "We are optimistic by the time votes on municipal consent occur, most of the city concerns will be addressed satisfactorily," said Trevor Roy, a spokesman for the Blue Line project. Municipal-consent votes by cities along the Blue Line extension's proposed alignment - Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Crystal and Brooklyn Park, as well as the county and the council - are at least a year away. Plus, the Met Council is struggling to contain Southwest's scheduling delays and ballooning costs which have prompted an investigation by the legislative auditor. The controversy comes as Metro Transit tries to regain its footing after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated ridership, and as some passengers avoid light rail because they think it's unsafe aboard trains and at stations. It wasn't a roadblock for the existing Blue and Green lines, or for the Southwest light-rail project now under construction. The debate raises questions whether a state law requiring cities and counties to grant "municipal consent" for light-rail routes will be tested for the first time. And growing resistance in the Lyn Park neighborhood of north Minneapolis will make planning the project even more complicated for the Met Council and Hennepin County. The Metropolitan Council, which will build and operate the Blue Line extension, is confident accommodations can be made to address community concerns.īut last week, the mayors of Robbinsdale and Crystal expressed opposition to a new 13-mile alignment for the Blue Line extension. While transit planners won't settle on a final route for the Blue Line extension between Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park for at least a year, budding opposition to the project could waylay the Twin Cities' fourth - and likely final - light-rail line. A plan to extend light-rail service to the northern suburbs faces opposition from an unusual quarter: leaders in the communities it's supposed to serve.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |