Hennepin County OKs additional funds for Minneapolis light-rail project

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners late last week approved an additional $204 million to cover the increasing costs of Metro Transit's Southwest light-rail project.

Last month, Metropolitan Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff told project leaders that the line's cost had grown $145 million to just over $2 billion due to freight-rail negotiations, additional environmental analysis and higher steel and labor costs.

In total, Hennepin County is slated to provide $801 million for the Southwest project, the Star Tribune reported. The Federal Transit Administration is expected to provide $929 million for the project, but will make the contribution only if local funding is secured, according to the newspaper.

An extension of Metro Transit's Green Line, the 14.5-mile Southwest project would operate from downtown Minneapolis to St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, Minnesota.