02-13-1985 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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$ 4. L.J4,I,,C4 LC-) .. 11U✓✓---• LRT cost is 3 ; ` million; funding sources are varied LRT costs For a little over $381 million, the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area could have a 39 -mile light rail transit (LRT) system along the entire length of all three cor- ridors under consideration. By corridor, building costs come to: University Av. -9 miles between Minne- apolis and St. Paul- 8114.7 million. Southwest -18 miles from Minneapolis southwest to Excelsior — $108.7 million. Hiawatha -11 miles from Minneapolis to Bloomington - 8148.6 million. Downtown Minneapolis— I. mile -89.6 million. (This does not include a possible subway tunnel in downtown Minne• apolis.) If a line were built in just one corridor, the cost would be $9.6 million more than the single•corridor figure shown above, since the downtown Minneapolis segment would be part of it. The figures were put together by a tech• nical advisory committee of the LRT Implementation Management Commit- tee, chaired by Hennepin County Com- missioner Sam Sivanich. They are the result of lengthy committee discussions on many issues, from the probable cost of LRT vehicles ($1 million apiece) to how many LRT stations should contain TV monitors (all of them). • A number of "unknowns" could change the figures substantially, however. For instance, "stations are the big cost factor Continued on page 7. 14 LRT financing Where would the moneycome from? That's one of the biggest questions sur• rounding studies of light rail- transit (LRT) in the Twin Cities Area, To pay for even a portion of the $381 million system being proposed, a mix of fund- ing sources would likely be required. Although the federal government has, in past years, funded up to 75 percent of the cost of building new transit systems, a more realistic figure today is 50 percent, said Lawrence Dallam; Transportation Department director for the Metropoli- tan Council. Under current policy, only one corridor might be eligible for fuhd- ing, not all three under consideration. MANY CITIES APPLYING What's more, the Urban Mass Transpor- tation Administration, which administers the federal funds, has received expres- sions of interest from so many cities around the country, it would take 15 years at the current appropriation rate to pay for them all. But, as Dallam pointed out, not all will be funded because some will, no doubt, not be cost effective. Other possible funding sources include state and local governments, transit authorities and private developers: The major state revenue source dedicated to transit in the Twin Cities Area is a portion of the motor vehicle excise tax. The amount generated starts with some $10 million in 1985 and will climb to an estimated $83 million in 1993. Continued on page 7.