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CRYSTAL, Minn. – Sept. 20, 2016 -- The Federal Transit Administration has issued a Record of Decision for the METRO Blue Line Extension Light Rail Transit Project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement, the project office said today.
The Record of Decision means the FTA has signed off on the environmental review process for the project. The next step is for the Metropolitan Council as the Responsible Government Unit on Sept. 28 to determine the adequacy of the Final EIS. That will conclude the state environmental review process for the project under Minnesota Rules chapter 4410.
“The completion of the federal environmental review is an important milestone for the Blue Line Extension LRT Project,” Metropolitan Council Chair Adam Duininck said.
After the Met Council vote on Sept. 28, the project will ask the FTA to authorize the project’s entry into the engineering phase.
“The project will be poised then to advance the design over the next year and request federal funding in spring 2017,” Duininck said.
Here is the link to the Record of Decision:
http://Metrocouncil.org/blrt/rod
The Final EIS; including the Amended Draft Section 4(f) and Section 6(f) Evaluation, USACE Section 404 permit application, and Section 106 Memorandum of Agreement, and all appendices; is available online at http://metrocouncil.org/blrt/feis.
About the project
The planned METRO Blue Line Extension (Bottineau) light rail transit project will operate about 13 miles northwest from downtown Minneapolis through north Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Crystal and Brooklyn Park, drawing riders northwest of Brooklyn Park. The proposed alignment will have 11 new stations in addition to Target Field Station where it will continue as the METRO Blue Line, providing one-seat rides to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America. It will connect Minneapolis and the region’s northwest communities with existing LRT on the METRO Green Line, future LRT on the METRO Green Line Extension (Southwest LRT), bus rapid transit on the METRO Red Line, the Northstar commuter rail line and local and express bus routes.
The Metropolitan Council will be the grantee of federal funds and is charged with building the line in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Blue Line Extension Corridor Management Committee, which includes local officials from Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Crystal, Brooklyn Park and Minneapolis, provides advice and oversight. Funding is provided by the Federal Transit Administration, Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB), Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA), and the state of Minnesota.
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