The Metropolitan Council, the provider of services for the Minneapolis–Saint Paul (Twin Cities) region, has voted that the Blue Line Extension’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is adequate under Minnesota rules. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) had already signed off on the Final EIS.
The Council also set the project’s final scope and budget at $1.536 billion. The project staff will now seek FTA permission to enter the engineering phase to complete the designs. The engineering staff for the project expects to complete 60 percent of the design work in the first quarter of 2017 and finalize designs in late 2017. This includes advancing work on roadway design, the stations, and operations and maintenance facilities.
“The northwest suburbs are some of the fastest growing and most rapidly diversifying communities in our state,” said Metropolitan Chair Adam Duininck. “The Blue Line Extension means better jobs and better access to jobs for thousands of residents throughout the region."
"Whether it’s for those residents along the line who don’t own a vehicle and will be able to take a one-seat ride to the Mall of America or the MSP Airport, or for reverse commuters living in Minneapolis or Saint Paul, who will be able to access jobs in the northwest suburbs, this project helps advance our region’s economy,” added Duininck.
The METRO Blue Line Extension (Bottineau) light rail transit project will operate about 13 miles northwest from downtown Minneapolis through north Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Crystal and Brooklyn Park. The proposed alignment will have 11 new stations in addition to Target Field Station where it will continue as the METRO Blue Line.
Communities served by line are expected to grow by 110,000 people by 2040. Currently, 14 percent of households along the line do not own a vehicle and in parts of North Minneapolis, more than half of households do not own a vehicle.
The Metropolitan Council will be the grantee of federal funds and is charged with building the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Funding is provided by the Federal Transit Administration, Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB), Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA), and the state of Minnesota.
The Council will be seeking the state’s share of the project in the 2017 legislative session. Project planners need to secure all local funding before they can submit the request to the FTA for full federal funding in mid-2017. The federal government is expected to pay nearly half of the project’s cost, with the state share coming in at $149.6 million, or 10 percent of the total cost.
The Council will also ask for a metro-area sales tax for transit, which would not only provide the necessary funding for Blue Line construction, but also the operations for the line and other transit services into the future.
Heavy construction is set to occur from 2018 to 2020, with passenger service starting in 2021. Nearly 27,000 weekday boardings are anticipated in 2040.