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Curtis Gilbert
St. Paul, Minn.

Park board readies engineering data for possible SW light rail suit

Light rail rendering
This artist rendering shows how the proposed Southwest light rail route would look to boaters at the bridge over the canal between Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles.
Courtesy of the Metropolitan Council

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The Minneapolis Park Board will spend up to $500,000 on an engineering study to prepare for a possible lawsuit over the Southwest light rail line.

The board wants to bury the trains in a tunnel underneath the channel connecting Cedar Lake to Lake of the Isles. The Metropolitan Council says it's already spent 800 engineering hours studying the possibility of tunneling under the channel, which would add time and expense to the project.

The current plan is to run the trains through a shallow tunnel south of the channel. The trains would then resurface, use a bridge to cross the channel and continue at ground level.

The bridge would create an eyesore on an otherwise scenic landscape, said Park Board President Liz Wielinski.

"It goes from looking like a cute little back-woods natural area with an old railroad wooden bridge that's very picturesque to being like going under 35W," she added.

The Met Council promises to work with the park board on the bridge design.

If the park board sues, it could deal another setback to a project that has already undergone lengthy delays to win approval from the Minneapolis City Council.

Southwest light rail also faces a lawsuit from a group of residents who are concerned the tunnels already planned will harm nearby lakes. A study completed earlier this year found the tunnels wouldn't damage the lakes. A more in-depth environmental review is due early next year.