Blue Line project team asks Met Council to fill funding gap
A Blue Line train pulls into a station at 38th and Hiawatha. Photo by David Pierini
By David Pierini, Editor
A light rail project to extend the Blue Line from downtown to North Minneapolis and three suburbs is trying to stay on track as it approaches a $224 million funding gap, a ticking clock and unpredictable Washington politics.
Hennepin County transit officials presented an update on the $3.39 billion project Tuesday at the Brooklyn Park Library in front of an audience with sign-holding critics calling for more buses.
County officials believe they have the solution – ask that the Metropolitan Council use discretionary funds to fill the gap as it has with the much-delayed and over-budget Southwest Light Rail project.
However, Met Council has signaled it doesn’t not have much discretion over the so-called 5307 formula funds, normally used for purchasing train cars.
Met Council member Reva Chamblis said it would take a change in the statute for the Met Council to use the money on other parts of the project.
“You can do it, there is nothing that precludes you,” Lunde snapped at Chamblis. “You’re already using 5307 funds for the green line gap. So, to say that it’s not useable is not true.”
Chamblis replied, “We have different layers of requirements. We don’t want to get stuck on what a state statute says, and we certainly don’t want to go against it. I would like to see us focus on what we can do to close the local gap.”
Transit officials need final approval from the Federal Transportation Administration for the release of more than$700 million from the Capital Investment Grant program (CIG) to fully fund the project.
They are racing against expected changes in the CIG program due later this year that could make the Blue Line Extension plan ineligible for federal dollars, said Lisa Cerney, assistant Hennepin County administrator.
“There’s nothing going North,” K.B. Brown, right, said during Tuesday’s meeting as refers to a map that shows North Minneapolis without a light rail line. “Find the money, get it done or and bring our community into the current century.” Photo by David Pierini
The 13-mile Blue Line extension would extend from Target Field to North Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Crystal and Brooklyn Park, a corridor officials say is the most transit-dependent in the state.
If approved by the federal government, construction would start in 2028 with trains expected to run in 2033.
Many in North Minneapolis are against the proposed route, which would run down 21st Avenue before jogging over to West Broadway at James Avenue. Local businesses fear construction vibrations could damage aging buildings and the four-year period expected to complete the route could dry up business.
Minneapolis City Councilmember Pearll Warren attended the meeting, critical of the route and how the train might attract crime, or “foolishness” as she put it.
Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston acknowledge the proposed extension was far from perfect. He took issue with Warren’s comments. He said light rail will bring job opportunities and much-needed investment to communities in need of both.
“This, for me, is a project to move things forward in terms of our wealth,” Winston said. “There are real options for that, but if this does not go through, the Northside will continue to deal with many of the same problems from 20, 30, 40 years ago.”
Northside businessman K.B. Brown looked at a Hennepin County transit map projected on a screen in the room. The map showed colorful lines for light rail routes currently in operation.
None of the lines go North.
“When I look at that chart, it pisses me off,” Brown said. “There’s nothing going North. “Whether you are for this train or not, I don’t care. What I do care about is investment in a community that deserves it. Find the money, get it done or and bring our community into the current century.”