Minneapolis group cheers ruling in Southwest light rail lawsuit

Opponents of the Southwest light rail line say they've won a legal ruling that will let them look into the process used to select a route for the line.

Federal judge John Tunheim sided with the Lakes and Parks Alliance of Minneapolis in an ongoing lawsuit over the line, filed in 2014. The judge's decision doesn't address the legality of the train line, but says the Metropolitan Council will have to disclose records about its negotiations and agreements with other cities in the area.

"We think we'll probably find an abundance of documents that show that the Met Council never did study an alternative route that would be less environmentally damaging that the one they've chosen," said Mary Pattock, alliance spokesperson.

Pattock's group wants records about negotiations and agreements between the Met Council and other cities in the area — cities might have been alternatives to the route chosen between Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles, opponents say. And they contend the Met Council never seriously considered an alternative with less environmental impact, a potential violation of federal environmental law.

A spokesperson for the Met Council says it will comply with the judge's order. The council has been fighting the lawsuit since 2014.

The decision Tuesday comes just days after the Met Council issued its final environmental impact statement for the extension of the Green Line that already runs from Minneapolis to St. Paul. The council says it is pressing ahead with the plan for the $1.8 billion extension running about 15 miles from Target Field to Eden Prairie.

The council hopes to have a formal decision whether or not to build later this year and apply for federal funding in 2017.