urbanMSP

It's still absolutely frustrating that the majority of the line will be done this year, except for the stupid tunnel. Everything is going to sit unused for 3 to 4 years.


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It's still absolutely frustrating that the majority of the line will be done this year, except for the stupid tunnel. Everything is going to sit unused for 3 to 4 years.


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From the trail closures list, it seems like construction will be going in places that are not the tunnel until 2025. Likely moving resources around to prioritize the tunnel.

Is there any chance they phased open it down to the 21st street station?

I was just thinking this as well.

You must mean a phased opening running from SW Station to 21st St? For one thing, I don't think there is an OMF that could maintain the vehicles on that segment of tracks independently. Furthermore, I think the new vehicles are to be delivered near the Franklin station and there won't be a way to physically transport the vehicles to the western segment until the Kenilworth tunnel is complete.

Last I heard they won't open it but will potential put a car on the tracks to complete testing that segment to try to speed up the opening once the tunnel is completed

You must mean a phased opening running from SW Station to 21st St? For one thing, I don't think there is an OMF that could maintain the vehicles on that segment of tracks independently. Furthermore, I think the new vehicles are to be delivered near the Franklin station and there won't be a way to physically transport the vehicles to the western segment until the Kenilworth tunnel is complete.

I think they were referring to extending from Target Field to W 21st, that could be done since it’s before the tunnel.


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I think they were referring to extending from Target Field to W 21st, that could be done since it’s before the tunnel.

My bad, that makes much more sense. Although maybe opening to Penn makes more sense, since (a) the tunnel construction is moving south to north I believe, so there may be ongoing construction in the vicinity of 21st, and (b) 21st isn't operationally very important as a terminus. Even if they extend the 2 simultaneously, that particular connection is really most useful for riders coming to/from the southwest.

I suspect it would come down to where the crossovers are positioned to let the trains switch tracks.

I wonder how they're getting the LRVs to the other side of the incomplete tunnel for testing? Just craning them up onto a truck?

Sorry for confusion, yeah I meant opening from Target Field to 21st (or Bryn Mawr/Penn Station HAH!). It would add the Farmers market to the Green line which seems like a no-brainer. "Just" use regular Green Line trains. I'd imagine you'd have to add capacity to maintain the same frequency though.

State watchdog: Met Council should reform construction practices after Southwest LRT debacle

Another legislative auditor report regarding SWLRT, this time indicating that the change order process was not subject to enough oversight from the Met Council, and that their contracts weren't written strongly enough to protect against overruns. Zelle continues to (frustratingly, in my opinion) say some combination of "this is fine" and "the feds wouldn't let us do things any differently even if things weren't fine, which they are."

It might not change anything substantively, but it would at least lend a modicum of credibility for Met Council leadership to at least acknowledge the problems that SWLRT has had.

I would be interested in a deep dive where this statement by Zelle about the auditors’ recommendation that they “do not align with … construction law”.

In learning there is a thing called “construction law”.

There is a lot of law around construction, ranging from extensive and detailed contracts to statutes and regulations to case law interpreting all of that.

Recent drone update for the whole corridor.

https://youtu.be/neKcEGXFbZ4

Recent drone update for the whole corridor.

https://youtu.be/neKcEGXFbZ4

Man they are close to being done with major construction in Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, and much of Hopkins

And conversely - man, so much heavy construction still remaining from Hopkins to TFS.

I will say though, I get the need to keep people away from an active construction site but many of the trail closures look like they could easily be reopened if there was an actual desire to do so.

Also there is a sidewalk jog at blake road that biking on I almost ate it in the ballast because i wasn't paying attention and didn't expect the sidewalk to take a 90 degree turn.

Finally I did see that they are starting the installation of the power and signals systems out in Eden Prairie and I have heard that they will most likely be bringing a train out to that end to start testing before the full alignment is competed

Also there is a sidewalk jog at blake road that biking on I almost ate it in the ballast because i wasn't paying attention and didn't expect the sidewalk to take a 90 degree turn.

I spotted that sidewalk turn on the video and thought it looked odd.

Anyone have a reason why they'd do that? It doesn't seem like they wanted the sidewalk to meet the railroad perpendicularly, because all of ten feet away no such jog exists where the sidewalk crosses the LRT tracks.

I will say though, I get the need to keep people away from an active construction site but many of the trail closures look like they could easily be reopened if there was an actual desire to do so.

I think they just give up after a point and just let people on. I can't recall the section from Louisiana to wooddale being fenced off once to section from Blake to Louisiana was paved and was using that as some gravel practice for a race for months on the weekends (although it's now freshly paved as of yesterday), and the took down the fencing blocking the beltline bridge and left a massive gap in the concrete barrier so it's theoretically rideable from Blake to the Greenway although I'd only recommend it on a mountain or gravel bike.

The footage really drives home how much of SWLRT is running through undevelopable wetlands, along highways, and industrial areas. And it's pretty stunning how little they have done north/east of Hopkins.