4.2. SR 06-17-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I. Introduction The proposed Northstar Corridor Rail Project (Project) will provide commuter rail service along an 82-mile corridor from Downtown Minneapolis to St. Cloud/Rice parallel to Trunk Highways 47 and 10. It will use existing rail tracks owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and include 11 stations. The commuter line is expected to carry 9,594 passengers per day upon opening in December 2005 and 10,829 by the year 2020. The rail line will have inter-modal connections to bus transit and to the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit (LRT) line. The LRT connection, called the Multi-modal Connection, consists of a four-block extension of Hiawatha LRT to reach the Downtown Minneapolis commuter rail station. With the exception of the Downtown and Northeast Minneapolis stations, all of the stations would have park and ride facilities. Since the last Quarterly Review Meeting (QRM) with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), held on January 23, 2002, the Project has published the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), conducted a number of public informational presentations, continued to plan for transit oriented development at station sites, and provided a great deal of information for the ongoing legislative session. Ii.¸ State and Local Funding The top priority in the Minnesota Department of TransportatiOn (Mn/DOT) capital budget request to the Governor was $120 million for the Northstar Corridor Rail Project. This would cover a 40% state share for the entire commuter rail corridor to Rice, as well as a 50% state share for the Multi-modal Connection. This was also the Governor's top transportation priority in his bonding proposal to the Legislature. The current Senate bonding bill contains $8 million for the Project and the House version contains no Project funding. These two bonding bills are now in conference committee. The Senate also passed another bill that could also provide funding for the Project. The bill would raise the gas tax, thereby allowing creation of a multi-modal fund from freed up motor vehicle sales tax funds that could be tapped for commuter rail construction and operations. This same bill also includes a referendum in which voters in the Twin Cities area could choose to raise their sales tax to increase funding for transportation including transit. Mn/DOT will request FTA's permission to enter the final design phase after receiving a commitment for State of Minnesota funding for the Project. The Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) Capital Partners have committed $25.1 million of their $27.1 million share of the Project. The difference Northstar Corridor Quarterly Report 2 May 1, 2002