Southwest Light Rail now ‘over 85% complete’ Met Council update says

Southwest Light Rail transit project audit report released

An audit looking at the construction of the Southwest Light Rail is being released Wednesday morning. FOX 9's Kelly O'Connell has the latest on the project.

(FOX 9) - An update by the Metropolitan Council says the well over-budget and long-delayed Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) project is now over 85%" completed, as neighboring residents can expect construction to continue into nights and weekends.

SWLRT update

What we know:

The update says that with construction now over 85% complete, contracted work will continue extending into weekends and evening hours.

Dig deeper:

The Metropolitan Council is the regional policymaking body, planning agency, and provider of essential services for the Twin Cities metropolitan region.

Created by the Minnesota Legislature in 1967, the Council is the regional government authority for the 14.5-mile light rail line that will run from downtown Minneapolis to the suburban communities of Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and St. Louis Park. A board of 16 members and a chair govern the Council – the governor appoints all.

SWLRT project

The backstory:

Before the Council began overseeing construction in 2019, it was estimated the SWLRT would cost $2.003 billion in total, and the line would open in 2023.

The Council now estimates that it will cost $2.767 billion to complete and will open in 2027. 
The Minneapolis to Eden Prairie line is now shorter than originally planned, and has one fewer station – a result of cost-cutting moves undertaken in the mid-2010s.

According to a report released by the Office of the Legislative Auditor in March 2023, "despite knowing that project costs were increasing beyond its available funds, the Metropolitan Council developed no formal contingency plan for temporarily or permanently stopping project work, and no estimate of the costs it would incur by doing so."

It ultimately concluded that the Metropolitan Council had not held its contractor accountable for failures to provide an acceptable project schedule throughout the project’s construction.
Meanwhile, there remain doubts over how it will be funded to completion.

"More than $500 million of the project's estimated $2.74 billion budget is currently unfunded, and the Metropolitan Council has not yet identified a funding source," auditors wrote at the time.

The Council is currently seeking "$650 to $750 million to complete the project," the report said, while noting that, "Minnesota’s framework for developing light rail projects has created a mismatch between the entities that fund the construction of transit projects and the entities that are responsible for constructing them."