When Minnesota's governor Tim Pawlenty(R) slashed $200 million from a capital investment bill, he was cutting $70 million of funding from the Central Corridor light rail project. He said that Minnesota should "pull this project into the maintenance shed for further inspection to see how it fits into the plans that the Legislature has to balance the budget and exercise fiscal restraint." The project, which would connect downtown Minneapolis to downtown Saint Paul, was supposed to open in 2014 and cost a total of $909 million.
But don't despair quite yet - the project isn't dead! There are plans to negotiate and talk with the government as local politicians, transit planners, and advocates try to secure its federal funding. Transit planners, though, say that a year's delay could add $40 million to the construction cost because of inflation. Construction was supposed to start in 2010.
By 2030, an estimated 43,000 daily riders will take the new light rail line. The journey time between the two downtowns will be approximately 35 minutes.
Source: StarTribune: Minneapolis-St. Paul. Photo courtesy: Metro Transit
