Feelings Mixed on Blue Line Extension Project
The Bottineau Blue Line light rail transit (BLRT) extension project is expected to cost about $3 billion, making it one of the most expensive public works projects in the history of the state.
Local elected officials living along the proposed rail line expressed mixed feelings about that price tag.
The 13-mile rail line would connect downtown Minneapolis with Robbinsdale, Crystal and Brooklyn Park.
Metropolitan Council officials discussed cost estimates with the project’s Corridor Management Committee this week. Local mayors or other city representatives sit on the committee.
Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston spoke in favor of the moving ahead with the project, saying its value isn’t just financial, but its ability to address disparities in jobs and education.
The 13-mile Blue Line Light Rail Transit extension would connect downtown Minneapolis with Robbinsdale, Crystal and Brooklyn Park.
“I can tell you, in terms of the northwest suburbs, there are some very real disparities,” Winston said. “When you look at the disparities around education, around income, around jobs — for many of us, this is an opportunity to eat away at those disparities which have been quite pernicious. So, there’s a price tag to it. But I think part of that price tag is, it’s a price that’s never been paid. It needs to be paid so we that we can remove some of those disparities.”
Meanwhile, Crystal Mayor Jim Adams offered a more skeptical view on the project. He said he’s concerned about potential impacts to Crystal’s road system, as well as the cost of the project.
“Are we going to be able to do this in a cost-effective manner? I don’t know,” he said. “I think we’re on thin ice.”
The Met Council will start asking local governments for their consent to build the rail line in August. That process is called municipal consent.
