The Southwest light-rail line remains on track to begin service in 2027 despite construction difficulties encountered last winter, Metropolitan Council officials said this week.
"We won't announce a month or a date until we're closer," said Project Director Jim Alexander, during a Southwest advisory committee meeting Wednesday.
The Met Council, which is building the 14.5-mile line, said earlier this year that 2027 was the target date to start passenger service — four years later than planned when ground was broken for the project in late 2018.
Still, the fact that the latest opening date hasn't changed for the $2.7 billion Green Line extension despite a steady drumbeat of recent challenges and setbacks is noteworthy. The project, which has been planned for at least two decades, is the state's most expensive public works project.
More than 60% of the line, which links downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, now is constructed, particularly along its western stretch. But only 40% of a special wall for a key tunnel in Minneapolis' Kenilworth Corridor has been completed so far.
The wall stabilizes soils in the corridor, which is close to both Lake of the Isles and Cedar Lake, while the tunnel is constructed. Council officials have said this method is being used to help protect the foundation of nearby buildings.
Work on the wall "is ongoing," said Southwest project spokesman Trevor Roy. "Currently crews are adjacent to the Cedar Isles condominiums parking structure and moving north towards Cedar Lake Parkway,"
The Met Council announced in January that the project will cost $450 million to $550 million more than expected, raising the maximum price tag to $2.75 billion. The increase was attributed to the complexity of building the Kenilworth tunnel, the addition of a station in Eden Prairie, and a $93 million mile-long crash wall that will separate freight and light-rail trains west of Target Field.
