Signaling growing interest in tunnels for a new light-rail line, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak sought assurances Tuesday that an underground route would not harm nearby lakes or prevent connecting the Southwest LRT to a future city streetcar line.
Rybak's stance was outlined in a letter to the Metropolitan Council, the agency overseeing the LRT project, as it nears a decision on whether to build tunnels in the Kenilworth corridor of Minneapolis or reroute conflicting freight traffic from the city to St. Louis Park.
Building one or more tunnels for LRT trains would eliminate the need to reroute the freight, which many St. Louis Park residents oppose, as well as satisfy some Minneapolis residents who don't want to see light-rail trains near their homes and parkland.
While Rybak said the Met Council should seriously consider a deep tunnel, he also left open the possibility of supporting shorter, shallow tunnels.
"I want to give Met Council the opportunity to demonstrate that is possible," he said in his letter to agency chair Susan Haigh.
Haigh called Rybak's comments "a positive sign that Minneapolis will continue its strong partnership on this project and that we can resolve the most challenging issue ... in a collaborative manner."
Rybak expressed concern over 1,000 feet separating the two shallow tunnels under consideration between Lake of the Isles and Cedar Lake. He indicated that Met Council engineers should look for ways to shorten the gap or use walls, fences or landscaping to hide the LRT trains when they run above ground and over a water channel linking the lakes.
Looking to contain costs
A 1.4-mile-deep tunnel in the Kenilworth corridor, an area popular with canoeists, bikers and runners, would cost up to $330 million to build. Rerouting the freight to St. Louis Park would cost an estimated $200 million. The shorter, shallow tunnels in Kenilworth could cost $160 million. An estimated $90 million in related costs would be added to any of the options.