Southwest LRT Project Craig Lamothe, AICP Senior Project Manager 2011 MN State Planning Conference September 29, 2011

1)Twin Cities Transit System Profile 2)Previous Regional New Starts Projects a)Hiawatha LRT b)Northstar Commuter Rail c)Central Corridor LRT 3)Federal New Starts Program Primer 4)Southwest LRT Project a)Alternative Analysis Phase Recap b)Preliminary Engineering Phase Preview 2 Today’s Topics

3 Twin Cities Ridership

4 Metro Transit Ridership (2010)

5 Peer Comparison: 2009 System Ridership

6 Peer Comparison: Ridership per Capita

Buses –Artic Buses: 163 –Standard 40’ Buses: 735 –Hybrid Buses: 97 Light Rail –27 cars Commuter Rail –18 Passenger Cars –6 Locomotives 7 Metro Transit Fleet

Transitway System

12 miles 19 Stations Project Cost: $715.3 million 2011 Annual Operating Budget: $26.7 million Avg. Weekday Ridership (Aug ‘11): 35, Total Annual Ridership: 10,500,000 9 Hiawatha LRT (Blue Line)

40 miles 6 stations Project Cost: $320 million 2011 Annual Operating Budget: $17.0 million Avg. Weekday Ridership (Aug. ‘11) 2, Total Annual Ridership: 710, Northstar Commuter Rail

11 miles 18 new stations $957 million 2015 Est. Operating budget: $25.4 million Projected weekday ridership: Over 40,000 by Central Corridor LRT (Green Line)

12 New Starts Overview Full Funding Grant Agreement Alternatives Analysis Final Design Commitment of Non-Federal Funding, Construction Plans, ROW Acquisition, Before-After Data Collection Plan, FTA Evaluation for FFGA, Begin Negotiations Proj Mgmt Over-sight Construction Preliminary Engineering Complete NEPA Process Refinement of Financial Plan Preliminary Engineering Complete NEPA Process Refinement of Financial Plan Select LPA, MPO Action PMP FTA Decision on entry into PE FTA Decision on entry into FD Systems Planning

Evaluate the mode and alignment options for a particular corridor Benefits, costs and impacts of transportation options Complete with the selection of the locally preferred alternative (LPA) and adoption of the LPA into the region’s long range transportation plan 13 Alternatives Analysis (AA) Phase

Consider design options to refine LPA and complete the NEPA process Hone the estimates of project cost, benefits, impacts and schedule Finalize management plans Demonstrate technical capabilities to develop the project Commit local funding sources 14 Preliminary Engineering (PE) Phase

Prepare final construction plans, contract packages, detailed specifications and bid documents 15 Final Design (FD) Phase

16 New Starts Evaluation Process

17 Peer “New Starts” Projects Orlando, FL Honolulu, HI New York, NY St. Paul- Minneapolis P N Pending FFGA New FFGA E Existing FFGA July 2011 Status San Francisco Houston, TX Denver, CO Salt Lake City, UT Dallas, TX Seattle, WA E E E N. Virginia-Dulles, VA E E N P Hartford, CT E E P Sacramento, CA P P San Jose, CA N N Portland, OR P P E E E

18 Peer “New Starts” PE Projects Vancouver, WA Portland, OR Sacramento, CA Los Angeles, CA Honolulu, HI Houston, TX Charlotte, NC Pawtucket, RI San Jose, CA Salt Lake City, UT Minneapolis,- St. Paul, MN September 2011 Status

Alternatives Analysis LPA Selected LPA Amended into TPP MC requests to Enter PE FTA approves Entry into PE 19 SWLRT: Historical Timeline Nov. 4, 2009 May 26, 2010 Aug. 31, 2010 Sept. 2, 2011

Transit Technology Review Identification of Alignments and Stations Initial Set of Alternatives –No Build –Enhanced Bus –Build Alternatives (BRT & LRT) 20 SWLRT: AA Phase

15 miles 17 new stations Est. Project Cost: $1.25 billion 21 SWLRT: Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA)

22 SWLRT: Project Budget $30.6M in Local Funds Committed to Date $625 million $375 million $125 million

23 SWLRT: Anticipated Schedule Preliminary Engineering Final Design Construction Revenue Operations

Procurement of Engineering Services Complete 30% Design Procurement of Environmental Services Complete Final Environmental Impact Statement Establishment of a Project Office Secure Municipal Consent from 5 Cities 24 SWLRT: PE Phase

Mark Fuhrmann, Program Director – New Starts Rail Projects Chris Weyer, Project Director - Southwest LRT For Further Information and Updates 25