The fifth and final report from a state watchdog agency detailing cost overruns and delays related to construction of the $2.9 billion Southwest light-rail line will likely be released this spring, an effort taking far longer than expected.
The report will include a financial audit of the controversial project by the state’s Office of the Legislative Auditor, which launched its probe in the summer of 2021. More than 80% of the line between Minneapolis and Eden Prairie has been built, with passenger service expected to begin in 2027.
“The delay is due to overly optimistic initial estimates of how long the audit would take to complete,“ Legislative Auditor Judy Randall wrote in an email last month.
The Legislative Auditor’s office never gave a specific date for the final report, but there was talk that it would be released during this past year’s legislative session.
The investigation of the biggest public works project in state history, an extension of the existing Green Line, was pushed more than three years ago by Sen. Scott Dibble and former Rep. Frank Hornstein, both DFLers from Minneapolis.
Their request came after a contingency fund to cover unexpected construction costs was nearly depleted even though only half the project had been built. Hennepin County stepped in at the time with $200 million to cover unanticipated budget items, but the seed had been planted for further investigation.
Dibble said last week he hasn’t heard any updates regarding the financial audits. (Hornstein has since retired.)
What previous reports found
The Legislative Auditor’s first report in 2021, technically a memorandum, highlighted a fractured relationship between the Metropolitan Council, the regional planning body in charge of building Southwest, and its main architectural and engineering contractor, AECOM Technical Services (ATS).