MINNEAPOLIS — Leaders with Hennepin County and the Met Council say they plan to take the METRO Blue Line Extension "in a new direction" and scrap the light rail line's current proposed route.
Officials said the decision was made after "years of unsuccessful discussions" with BNSF Railway about sharing its freight rail lines.
"Hennepin County and Metropolitan Council staff, along with elected leaders, have worked hard to build on a long history of cooperation with BNSF Railway on this project. Unfortunately, over the last four years, this cooperation stopped, and the railway is unwilling to find solutions to move the project forward together," officials with Hennepin County and the Met Council said in a joint statement.
The METRO Blue Line Extension, also known in earlier stages as Bottineau Light Rail Transit, would serve portions of north Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Crystal, and Brooklyn Park.
The original proposed 13-mile route would have started at the Target Field Blue Line Station in downtown Minneapolis, roughly following portions of Highway 55, Bottineau Blvd. (County Road 81) and West Broadway before ending in Brooklyn Park.
Leaders said they remain committed to the project, while preserving as much of the route's alignment as possible.
"This project is a critical element in meeting our transportation needs for a growing region,” said Metropolitan Chair Charlie Zelle in a statement. “Our commitment to the Blue Line Extension has not changed and I look forward to working with project partners and community stakeholders as we chart our new pathway forward."
"BNSF’s new obstinance cannot deter our work any longer," Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat said in a statement. "The time to forge ahead is now. These cities and the region, as a whole, need this LRT project."
According to the county and Met Council, the extended light rail line would serve a diverse area with high rates of transit-dependent households.
"People in these communities continue to be harmed by historic patterns of systemic racism that are compounded by a lack of transit and transportation infrastructure. Now, in the face of multiple crises disproportionately impacting communities of color, transformational investment is more urgent than ever," the statement said.
The Met Council is planning a meeting of its Corridor Management Committee on August 13 to discuss next steps, including community conversations about the future of the project.
