urbanMSP

I'm fairly certain that building just houses the equipment for the cell tower and they designed it to look like an old station building.

I don't think any of the SWLRT is going to use any historic buildings. iirc there was something about using an old smokestack at the shady oak station but I think that fell threw and I remember as a kid some 10-15 years ago when I first heard about the project I thought that they where gonna reuse the depot for the hopkins station but obviously that was never the case.

True: https://alvestos.wixsite.com/mncyclist/ ... -never-was

Tracks are starting in EP!


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Would've been nice if they included a trail deck with all of those flyovers plus the Crosstown tunnel. I realize that would cost more, how much more I don't know, but it would be an impressive rail-with-trail corridor.

I looked around the Belt Line Blvd, Wooddale Avenue, Blake Road, and Downtown Hopkins stations and they've been preparing the roadbed where the light rail tracks will be. Foundations for the overhead wire poles have been built.

Lots of interesting details about issues with the Kenilworth tunnel and the BNSF wall: https://tcbmag.com/southwest-lrts-rocky-mess/ Author suggests several more years of delays are likely, though nothing public has been shared about a new date.

I know this is me projecting from my own profession onto one that works differently, but I do think it would be time and money well spent for one of the parties (Met Council, Metro Transit, Hennepin County, even the FTA) to task some people with investigating and writing up a postmortem report explaining what went wrong with this project and how it went so badly wrong. We need definitive answers as to why planners went to such lengths to prioritize this fraught route despite it also being the lower-ridership option, why the foreseeable issues around soil and tunneling were handwaved away, why the railroad's involvement has turned out to be so much more of a hassle than anticipated, etc. Not even with the intent to blame anyone, but just to learn from, and not repeat, these mistakes. (The "railroads will create lots of hassles if you try and run along their ROW" lesson is one we've already learned twice, for instance.)

I don't know what there is to say about this that hasn't already been said on this forum.

But I agree that an after-action report would be helpful.

That article is pretty scathing. More confirmation that the Kenilworth alignment was a massive mistake, and one we'll probably never get a chance to undo.

The article also brings up fears for me of this getting mothballed partway through construction. If a less transit-receptive Hennepin County board is elected in 2022 (imagine an anti-Biden suburban wave sweeping in conservative members,) there is an outside chance that they deny a request for a large change order outside of the contingency fund. Where else would planners turn for a quick cash injection? The article implies that Hennepin County would be the only possibility, and I somehow Daudt that a GOP-led MN legislature would have any part in covering the difference.

I guess it depends how far long along it is when the request rolls in, and how big the request is. Let's hope the article is wrong, but I get the feeling that the SWLRT saga isn't over yet.

I can only hope that SWLRT is not for light rail what Northstar was for commuter rail.

Is there anyway that the train could be built to be operational from west lake station to eden prairie? And maybe extending to the farmers market from target field. With the B Line opening in 2024. There would still be a solid connection to the rest of the city's transit albeit much slower the the train would have been. And then in 2025 or 2026 when the tunnel is done then we can complete the whole route.

Is there anyway that the train could be built to be operational from west lake station to eden prairie? And maybe extending to the farmers market from target field. With the B Line opening in 2024. There would still be a solid connection to the rest of the city's transit albeit much slower the the train would have been. And then in 2025 or 2026 when the tunnel is done then we can complete the whole route.

That's a really interesting idea! If the Hennepin Ave reconstruction happens on-time (and has decent bus priority) they could potentially supplement it with a temporary aBRT-esque service from West Lake Station up Hennepin to Downtown, with timed transfers.

Never too late to add a "temporary" track from West Lake Station to Uptown TC on Midtown Greenway, and voila, we have direct access to B and E Lines.

Is there anyway that the train could be built to be operational from west lake station to eden prairie? And maybe extending to the farmers market from target field. With the B Line opening in 2024. There would still be a solid connection to the rest of the city's transit albeit much slower the the train would have been. And then in 2025 or 2026 when the tunnel is done then we can complete the whole route.

That's a really interesting idea! If the Hennepin Ave reconstruction happens on-time (and has decent bus priority) they could potentially supplement it with a temporary aBRT-esque service from West Lake Station up Hennepin to Downtown, with timed transfers.

Or if it's not done on time. Run it up lyndale from lake.

I just hate having a project that is mostly done and connected to it's OMF that is being held up because of one section of poor planning and execution. Especially if it will cost literally nothing extra to stop it at west lake except maybe a crossover track or potential impacts to project staging. And especially if this will last longer then a year. Honestly considering that the delays so far are due to the kenilworth tunnel and the retaining wall near penn and van white. We might even be able to open that section in 2023?

Never too late to add a "temporary" track from West Lake Station to Uptown TC on Midtown Greenway, and voila, we have direct access to B and E Lines.

You have my vote, sir.

Never too late to add a "temporary" track from West Lake Station to Uptown TC on Midtown Greenway, and voila, we have direct access to B and E Lines.

You have my vote, sir.

We could even do a "temporary" tunnel underneath hennepin.

I'm just going to leave this here: https://www.startribune.com/southwest-l ... 444760443/

I think it’s nice

Is there anyway that the train could be built to be operational from west lake station to eden prairie? And maybe extending to the farmers market from target field. With the B Line opening in 2024. There would still be a solid connection to the rest of the city's transit albeit much slower the the train would have been. And then in 2025 or 2026 when the tunnel is done then we can complete the whole route.

Unfortunately, due to cost reduction efforts the Operations and Maintenance Facility in Hopkins was removed from the project. Instead the Franklin O&M facility was expanded.

Is there anyway that the train could be built to be operational from west lake station to eden prairie? And maybe extending to the farmers market from target field. With the B Line opening in 2024. There would still be a solid connection to the rest of the city's transit albeit much slower the the train would have been. And then in 2025 or 2026 when the tunnel is done then we can complete the whole route.

Unfortunately, due to cost reduction efforts the Operations and Maintenance Facility in Hopkins was removed from the project. Instead the Franklin O&M facility was expanded.

So we just need to build a "temporary" track along the Greenway and connect with the Blue Line so trains can access the Franklin OMF.

I wonder if it's worth removing the 21st and maybe bryn mawr and doing a deep tunnel through the corridor since they seem too pig headed to change the route.
I mean it's not like anyone will miss the stations (probably) and deep tunneling seems like it'll be faster at this rate.