Two designs emerge as favorites for Blue Line’s Lowry Avenue station

Of all the light-rail stations to be built as part of the Blue Line Extension, the one at Lowry Avenue and West Broadway on the border of Minneapolis and Robbinsdale may be the most complex of all.

It’s a tricky intersection to begin with, as Lowry Avenue passes under West Broadway and intersects with Victory Memorial Drive and Theodore Wirth Parkway in the same spot.

Further complicating matters, land surrounding the intersection belongs to the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB), which gives the board a big say on what the station will ultimately look like.

The Project Decision Board, composed of Met Council members and Hennepin County commissioners, is looking to choose a design, possibly as early as next week. But any final decision can’t happen until the MPRB gives its blessing.

“We can’t kill the project, but it won’t proceed at the federal level until our concerns are satisfied,” said Adam Arvidson, the MPRB’s director of strategic planning. “At some point, the project office will come with a design ... and propose an option palatable to the Board of Commissioners.”

The Federal Transportation Act of 1966 prevents the conversion of park land for transportation purposes, unless the U.S. Department of Transportation sees no other feasible alternative, or the local jurisdiction agrees a project would have a minimal impact.

“We want to build an interchange supported by the park board and serve users of the park,” said Nick Thompson, the Met Council’s Blue Line Extension director.

The $3.2 billion Blue Line Extension is scheduled to start running between Target Field and Brooklyn Park in 2030.

The two sides appear to be on their way to hashing out differences. The MPRB, Minneapolis and Robbinsdale, North Memorial Health and residents raised concerns about the original option, which called for at-grade crossings with warning control devices (flashing lights and gates) at Lowry and Wirth Parkway, and asked for more choices.

Designers came up with eight more plans, some of which called for a flyover bridge, trains running in a trench or tunnel or stations with elevated platforms.

All nine plans are still in play, but two seem to be emerging as leading possibilities. The original plan with at-grade crossings would preserve the West Broadway bridges over Lowry built in 2022 and 2023, and could create additional park space.

Another option gaining traction would reroute Wirth Parkway slightly to the east, then under both West Broadway and Lowry, but leave drivers and trail users with no access to either road. A new intersection would connect Broadway and Lowry.

The plan, known as Option H, would require building two new bridges, reconstructing two existing bridges and modifying a third. The plan would not have any at-grade crossings for trail users or motorists. It would create more usable park space, but add an extra year and $50 million to the project, said Ryan Kronzer of the Met Council’s project office during a presentation to the MPRB on Wednesday night.

With no at-grade crossings, Option H seemed to resonate with some board members, who thanked the project staff for hearing their concerns and looking for solutions.

While the MPRB has not taken an official stance, “it looks like it is going in a direction the park board, as currently constituted, would be able to support‚” said MPRB Vice President Steffanie Musich at Wednesday’s meeting.

Citizens can also weigh in through Wednesday by submitting feedback in an online survey on the Met Council’s Lowry Station webpage.