Central Corridor (Minnesota)

Infobox rail line
name = Central Corridor


image_width =
caption =
type = Light rail
system = Metro Transit Light Rail
status =
locale = Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Saint Paul, Minnesota
start = Warehouse District/Hennepin Avenue Station (WEST)
end = Saint Paul Union Depot (EAST)
stations = 21 planned
routes =
ridership = 42,170 est.cite web| title=Central Corridor LRT: Frequently asked questions
url=http://www.metrocouncil.org/transportation/ccorridor/ccfaq.htm| publisher= Metropolitan Council | date=2008-06-27 | accessdate=2008-08-27]
open = 2014 (projected)
close =
owner =
operator = Metro Transit
character = Surface
stock =
linelength = convert|11|mi|adj=on
tracklength =
notrack =
gauge = RailGauge|sg (standard gauge)
el = Overhead lines
speed =
elevation =

Central Corridor|

The Central Corridor is a planned light rail line covering the convert|11|mi|adj=on stretch between the downtown regions of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota. The line is expected to follow the path of the current Metro Transit bus routes 16 and 50 along the combination of University Avenue and Washington Avenue (which runs from downtown Minneapolis past the University of Minnesota). On June 6, 2006, the light rail option was endorsed by the Central Corridor Coordinating Committee. [cite news| first=Laurie| last=Blake| url=http://www.startribune.com/462/story/477369.html|title=Trains, not Buses on Central Corridor| publisher=Minneapolis Star-Tribune| date=2006-06-06| accessdate=2006-06-07] The Metropolitan Council gave final approval to this decision on June 28, 2006, and is expected to submit an application to enter preliminary engineering with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) soon. With the submission of the preliminary engineering application, the Central Corridor project will transition from the Central Corridor Coordinating Committee to the Metropolitan Council, who will manage the project through completion and operation. [cite news| url=http://www.metrocouncil.org/news/2006/news_537.htm| title=Metropolitan Council approves light rail along Central Corridor| publisher=Metropolitan Council| date=2006-06-28| accessdate=2008-08-27]

The LRT line will be the second such line in the region after the Hiawatha Line, which opened in 2004 and connects Minneapolis with the southern suburb of Bloomington. It would also mark the return of rail to the corridor, as a streetcar line along University Avenue was the first of four "interurban" connections between Minneapolis and St. Paul as part of the Twin City Rapid Transit system that served the region. That line existed from 1890 until it was paved over in 1953. The tracks still lie beneath the pavement but will not be used for the new line. The line was best described as a streetcar, with frequent stops and a center-of-street right-of-way. It was one of four lines termed "interurban" because it ran from Minneapolis to Saint Paul. The others ran along Como Avenue, Selby and Lake, and West 7th in Saint Paul and then several streets in Minneapolis.

In April 2008, Governor Tim Pawlenty initially vetoed $70 million in funding for the Central Corridor project, along with other items, from the state budget. The funding was part of a state-local package of $227 million necessary to get federal transportation funds, and the future of the project was in doubt [cite news | title=Central Corridor dead - or alive? | work=St. Paul Pioneer Press | first=Bill | last=Salisbury | coauthors= Dave Orrick | date=2008-04-09| accessdate=2008-04-09] until May 18, 2008, when a revised bonding bill including the $70 million for the Central Corridor was passed in the Legislature and signed into law by the governor. [cite web| first=Tom | last=Scheck| date=2008-05-18 | url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/18/deal/| title=Deal reached at Capitol with little time to spare | publisher=Minnesota Public Radio ]

Projections

Though the 2003 study commissioned by the Central Corridor Coordinating Committee placed the cost at US$840 million, current estimates place the cost of the light-rail line at about US$920 million. Current projections expect final engineering planning to finish by 2010; the line will take about three years to build and should be operational by 2014.

The existing Hiawatha Line has exceeded ridership predictions, as is the case with many other light rail lines constructed in the U.S. during the last decade. [cite web | title = Hiawatha Light Rail Transit facts | publisher = Metropolitan Council | url = http://www.metrocouncil.org/about/facts/HiawathaLRTFacts.pdf | accessdate = 2008-04-09] [cite web | title = 10.3 Billion Trips Taken On Public Transportation Ridership In 2007 -- The Highest Level in 50 Years; Ridership Increased as Gas Prices Remained High | publisher = American Public Transport Association | url = http://www.apta.com/media/releases/080310_ridership.cfm | accessdate = 2008-04-09] This led to some delays for the Central Corridor project because local transit officials were forced to retool ridership models before submitting projections to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The Metropolitan Council, which operates Metro Transit, submitted numbers showing that a light rail line would carry 43,000 passengers daily by the year 2030. The FTA agreed that the line would be cost-effective at this level, a key requirement for obtaining federal funding. [cite news| first=Bill| last=Salisbury| url=http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/14154845.htm| title=Central Corridor light rail wins key OK| publisher=St. Paul Pioneer Press| date=2006-03-22| accessdate=2006-04-05]

Opposition

As with many transportation projects, businesses along the line have opposed development because of the economic impact it will cause while construction is underway. [cite news| first=Chris| last=Havens| url=http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/26013259.html| title=Giving up parking spots on University, but for what? | publisher=Minneapolis Star-Tribune| date=2008-07-29| accessdate=2008-08-27] cite news| first=Jim| last=Foti| url=http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/15960067.html| title=Central Corridor: Cost concerns put Plan B in driver's seat| publisher=Minneapolis Star-Tribune| date=2008-02-25| accessdate=2008-08-27] [cite news| first=Laura| last=Yuen| url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/08/11/lrt_opposition/| title=University Avenue business owners step up opposition to LRT | publisher=Minnesota Public Radio | date=2008-08-11| accessdate=2008-08-27] On-street parking will disappear in places that require a turning lane, but will largely remain available in the St. Paul corridor. However, another significant area of opposition comes from people who were displaced when Rondo Avenue in St. Paul was replaced by the sunken Interstate 94 corridor in the 1950s. Rondo was the center of St. Paul's African-American community. Though the Central Corridor construction is mostly an existing roadway and no land will be condemned, the disruption to existing transit and pedestrian ways has been cited. There is concern that stops may be placed too far apart along University and with limited bus service will further reduce transit options. The corridor presently contains working-class residents and immigrant populations from Laos and Vietnam. Others are concerned about gentrification, where rising property values and taxes could force out lower-income residents. [cite news|first=Laura|last=Yuen|url=http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/14293474.htm|title=Rondo haunting light-rail debate|publisher=St. Paul Pioneer Press|date=2006-04-09|accessdate=2006-04-09]

Others in favor of the line have expressed concern with the number of stations. The neighborhoods along University have demanded that the line have stations every half-mile, from Snelling to Rice Street, which would mean stations at Hamline, Victoria, and Western Avenues. The Metropolitan Council has included infrastructure work in their Draft Environmental Impact Statement and has committed to building one station if any mitigation funds are left at the end of construction. The station they are likely to choose is Hamline,Fact|date=July 2008 which sits in front of a Target Superstore.

Others have opposed using Washington Avenue for a pedestrian transit mall, and have opposed using the Washington Avenue bridge, citing traffic concerns, along with the age of the bridge, when other bridges upriver could be used to cross the Mississippi River: the 10th Avenue Bridge, the new I-35W bridge, or the Northern Pacific Bridge Number 9. This last option is the one preferred by the University of Minnesota, which fears traffic disruption and vibration at some of their research facilities would result from the Washington Avenue route. [cite news| first=Jim| last=Foti| url=http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/19291439.html| title=Volume rises as U, Met Council debate Central Corridor route| publisher=Minneapolis Star-Tribune| date=2008-05-28| accessdate=2008-08-27]

Transit links

By the time the Central Corridor project is completed, the Northstar Corridor commuter rail line will connect downtown Minneapolis with northwestern suburbs, with a station at the north/western terminus of the Hiawatha Line and Central Corridor. The two light-rail lines would share trackage in downtown between the Northstar station and the Metrodome. A short westward extension to the current Hiawatha Line is under construction in conjunction with the new Minnesota Twins ballpark to make it easier to directly transfer from Northstar to either of the light-rail corridors.

The temporary eastern terminus of the Central Corridor will be a street level station in front of the Saint Paul Union Depot, considered one of the great architectural achievements in the city and formerly one of the main points of departure for area train riders up until passenger rail service in the United States was restructured in the 1960s and 1970s. Future plans call for extending the line down to the concourse level, and provisions have been made including building the maintenance shops on adjacent land. The concourse of the Union Depot would become a transfer point for people coming into St. Paul along the proposed Red Rock Corridor commuter rail line. There is also some talk of moving the Amtrak intercity station from its current location near University between the cities to Union Depot. Amtrak provides daily service, via the Midway station, along the Empire Builder route to Chicago, Seattle and Portland. At the present time, the Union Depot is partially used as a mail hub by the United States Postal Service, as well as home to a couple restaurants. It has not seen the revitalization of similar depots in other cities. The postal service plans to relocate as soon as their new facility in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan is complete.

References

External links

* [http://metrocouncil.org/transportation/ccorridor/centralcorridor.htm Metro Council Central Corridor Site]
* [http://www.centralcorridor.org/ Central Corridor Coordinating Committee Site]
* [http://www.centralcorridorpartnership.org/ Central Corridor Partnership]