After Big Cuts, Met Council Approves SWLRT Plans
EDEN PRAIRIE (WCCO) -- After years of controversy, plans to extend the light rail from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie are moving forward. But that means some big cuts to the original plan.
On Wednesday, the Met Council chopped about $250 million from the project.
The original plan included one more stop past the Eden Prairie location at Mitchell Road. But that ended up getting cut in order to save money. As part of the plans approved Wednesday, the line will now end at the Eden Prairie Southwest Station.
The METRO Green Line Extension will now open in 2020 with 14.4 miles and 15 stations at a revised cost estimate of about $1.7 billion. Back in April, the price tag hit around $2 billion.
The chair of the Met Council said Wednesday's vote shows the momentum behind the project and everyone scaling back to deliver the project and serve the region.
As part of the new plan, Eden Prairie's Town Center stop had to be put on hold for now, several park and ride stations were also scaled back and the light rail fleet was cut by five vehicles.
The Met Council chair also said ending the line at Southwest Station maintains an important element of the project.
It connects the light rail to an existing transit hub and connects riders with jobs throughout the corridor.
Some of the funding from the state and cities along the way still needs to be secured. The project also needs to get federal approval.
It's expected to be in service by 2020 if all goes to plan.