Bankrollers of metro transit projects on Wednesday intensified their call to trim costs for the future Southwest Corridor light-rail line, urging planners to resist demands that could drive up the price.
The county officials who help fund transit projects said Southwest planners should consider ditching plans for building two tunnels in Minneapolis and instead place the light-rail line above ground next to existing freight tracks — an idea opposed by that city.
Meanwhile, the agency overseeing the project is offering to eliminate one of the tunnels, a suburban station at the end of the line and a mile of track near it to save more than $100 million.
The Southwest line was expected to cost $1.25 billion but now approaches $1.6 billion to settle a dispute over freight trains in the path of the future LRT. But there is growing sentiment among county officials who have their fingers on some of the purse strings to bring the total well below $1.5 billion.
"I don't see good decisions being made," said Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough. "I see money being thrown at small groups."
McDonough is a member of a coalition of five metro counties expected to fund 30 percent of the Southwest construction with a quarter-cent metro-area sales tax dedicated to transit. One of them, Hennepin County, also will kick in another 10 percent, as will the state. The federal government is expected to pay for half.
Control over funding gives the coalition a voice on decisions made by the Metropolitan Council, the agency overseeing the project, which has created costly options to satisfy critics threatening to stall it.
One top option involves making room for the LRT in the Kenilworth corridor of Minneapolis by rerouting freight trains to St. Louis Park. The option includes $200 million berms to address railroad concerns about safety but is opposed by resident activists and the city of St. Louis Park.
