 |
NEWS HEADLINES
|
|
|
| CLASSIFIEDS |
| »
VIA Metropolitan Transit seeks a Director of Innovative Services. [More]
|
| »
Ben Franklin Transit, Richland, WA, is looking for an assistant director, transit operations. [More]
|
| »
The Chatham Area Transit Authority requests proposals for on-call marketing for system map, route, signage design and printing services. [More]
|
| View more Classified Ads » |
| TO PLACE AN AD: E-mail the requested date(s) of publication to: ptads@apta.com. Mailing address is: Passenger Transport, 1300 I Street NW, Suite 1200 East,
Washington, DC 20005. Ad copy is not accepted by phone. DEADLINE: 3 p.m. EST, Friday, one week prior to publication date. INFORMATION: Phone (202) 496-4877. |
Construction Begins on Largest Project in Minnesota History
After more than two decades of planning, the Metropolitan Council recently broke ground for the largest infrastructure project in Minnesota history—the $2 billion Southwest Light Rail (Southwest LRT), which will serve Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie with 14.5 miles of new light rail when it enters service in 2023.
Dignitaries including Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) joined project partners from across the region at a ceremonial ground breaking in Hopkins, MN, site of a future rail support facility. Metro Transit will operate the new line, which will become an extension of the existing Metro Green Line.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton sent remarks calling Southwest LRT “a critical economic development project for the people of Minnesota. When complete, it will improve many thousands of lives from Eden Prairie to North Minneapolis. It will create new jobs, reduce highway congestion and better connect Minnesotans to one another.”
 |
| Crowds gathered in Hopkins, MN, for the ceremonial launch of construction on the $2 billion Southwest Light Rail project. |
Brian Lamb, general manager of Metro Transit, said, “The Green Line Extension is a turning point for the Twin Cities region and the entire state … Not only is this the biggest construction project in state history, it is an investment that will give generations of residents greater mobility and access to opportunity. We are thrilled to begin this history-making project and to create a better, brighter future for the communities we serve.”
The project incorporates 16 new light rail stations with connections to streets and trails, expected to attract new residential and commercial development. Funding will come from a combination of federal, state, county and local sources.
The ground breaking followed the Metropolitan Council receiving a Letter of No Prejudice from FTA, which makes early construction work eligible for federal reimbursement upon award of the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) anticipated in 2019. With the FFGA, the federal government would pay $929 million, or nearly half, of the project’s total cost.
|
ADVERTISEMENT |
|
In a heavy start-stop vocation like transit, you need industry-leading reliability and performance. Allison’s FuelSense® 2.0 with DynActive™ Shifting offers the highest potential fuel savings in demanding duty-cycles, tailored for your specific fleet.
Learn about the many advantages of FuelSense® 2.0. Contact your Allison representative. |
|
|
