A report released Friday morning by the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) finds that $500 million of the $2.74 billion Southwest Light Rail Transit (SWLRT) project remains unfunded, and the Metropolitan Council has yet to identify a funding source.
The troubled SWLRT project, which aims to connect downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Minnetonka and St. Louis Park, has been heavily criticized due to rising costs and lengthy delays.
According to the OLA, the project has more than doubled in cost since 2011. The line was supposed to open in 2018 at a cost of $1.25 billion. Now, the project isn't supposed to be finished until 2027.
Delays and rising costs are attributed to three reasons including uncertainty about the final location of freight rail along the project’s alignment, the construction of a light rail tunnel in Minneapolis’s Kenilworth Corridor, and the need for a concrete barrier wall between freight rail and light rail traffic along a portion of the alignment.
Additionally, three change alone have accounted for more than half of the $225 million worth of change orders approved as of April 29, 2022. Those changes include adding a previously deferred station in Eden Prairie, extending a concrete barrier wall between the freight rail and light rail lines in Minneapolis, and changing the construction method for the tunnel through the Kenilworth Corridor in Minneapolis.
Metropolitan Council Charlie Zelle released a statement a short time after the 56 page report was released.
“While no one report can provide the necessary details of the nearly 40 years of the project’s history, this independent report confirms the Met Council has been transparent about the costs and timeline every step of the way. We strongly believe accountability and transparency are critical to ensuring public programs and projects are run and managed efficiently.”
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The Legislative Audit Commission virtual hearing will be Thursday, September 8, at 1:30 p.m.
Minnesota Republican Senator Scott Neman also a statement, criticizing how the project's been handled.
"The OLA review gives me no confidence the Met Council or Hennepin County are properly managing the Southwest Light Rail project. While some cost overruns and delays can be expected with big projects, a doubling of the cost and nearly a decade of delays are unprecedented. I'm very concerned the required contingency account, used to pay for unanticipated costs, was nearly drained and backfilled with $200 million taxpayers’ dollars while their current guess is $500 million in additional funding – nearly 20% of the project – will be needed. The Met Council, entirely appointed by the Governor, has horribly mismanaged this project. The Hennepin County Commissioners are subjecting their taxpayers to a massive tax increase. The Governor and those Commissioners are responsible for this unprecedented misuse of public funds and must be held accountable.”
Another OLA report on the SWLRT project is expected next year.