The FTA issued its letter of no prejudice for the SWLRT project today. This is a HUGE deal locally. The SWLRT (or Green Line Extension) has been essentially shovel-ready for years, but has been hanging on by a thread with an tumultuous legal and funding picture. While the project is not 100% out of the woods yet, this is the last really major piece to fall into place. This commitment from the FTA should result in bid acceptance tomorrow, and groundbreaking this winter. At this point, service would begin in 2023. SWLRT will extend the METRO Green Line 15 miles, serving 16 new stations in Minneapolis and the suburbs of Saint Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie. The current Green Line provides 24/7 service from Downtown Minneapolis to Downtown Saint Paul and has an avg. weekday ridership of 41,000. The extension is estimated to add approx. 28,000 weekday riders.
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https://metrocouncil.org/Transportat...hwest-LRT.aspx)