Politics & Government
Southwest Corridor: Green Light for Preliminary Engineering
This is the first step in construction of light rail through Minnetonka.
The Federal Transit Administration has approved preliminary engineering to begin on the Southwest Corridor—a 15-mile light-rail transit line that would from downtown Minneapolis through Hopkins and Minnetonka to Eden Prairie. This approval is the first step in turning light rail in the southwest suburbs from theory to reality.
Gail Dorfman, a Hennepin County commissioner, noted this nod from the FTA reduced the number of communities around the country competing to begin engineering light-rail projects from 100 to about a dozen.
“This is a milestone to celebrate," Dorfman wrote in a press release issued Friday. "The Southwest LRT project is now real, after more than a decade of hard work and commitment.”
The Southwest Corridor would become the metro's third light-rail line. The Blue Line—better known as the Hiawatha Line—has been in operation since 2009. The Green Line, under construction, will connect the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Southwest Corridor will connect Minneapolis with the state's sixth-largest job center, the Opus/Golden Triangle. It's expected to serve more than 240,000 jobs, and insiders anticipate an average of 30,000 weekday riders by 2030.
Jan Callison, another Hennepin County commissioner, praised "the strong partnership between Hennepin County, the Metropolitan Council, the cities along the corridor, and the businesses and residents.”
“The continuing support from public and private partners has been instrumental in bringing us to this point and will be critical to getting the line to opening day and beyond,” she said in the press release.
