Blue Line LRT extension derailed
The Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County say they’re dropping their effort to run a light rail train along existing freight rail tracks from Minneapolis to Brooklyn Park.
“Its not an easy decision,” said Met Council Chair Charlie Zelle. “It’s very hard to turn your back on something which we thought was so good.”
Officials say planning for the so-called Bottineau corridor, which has been going on for more than a decade, was ultimately stymied by the refusal of BNSF Railway to share its right of way along a major portion of the route.
The 13-mile corridor would have extended the Blue Line that now runs from the Mall of America to downtown Minneapolis, going from the existing Target Field station through north Minneapolis to the suburbs of Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Eight miles of the route were expected to run on the BNSF right of way alongside the freight tracks. The project was estimated to cost $1.5 bilion.
The county and the Met Council say they’re committed to finding a new alignment for the line.
“It’s time now to look at alternatives and keep the project going,” said Zelle. “It is critical for the future of the region, it is an area where there is tremendous diversity of race, diversity of income.”
Zelle said more than $100 million has already been spent on planning for the now shelved route, although some of that may apply to an alternative.
Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat expressed frustration with the setback, saying the Bottineau corridor faced very few hurdles compared to other parts of the region’s light rail network.
”Those other lines had neighborhood opposition, in some cases they had municipal opposition, they had huge technical engineering difficulties,” he said. “This has none of that. This has one obstinate partner, that’s it.”