In 2024, project staff, in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration, will publish the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) and will share environmental findings during the summer months. This document will clearly outline potential project impacts and opportunities. There will be a 45-day public comment period to inform the next phase and the Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement, which will identify solutions for impacts, including how to avoid, minimize and mitigate them.

Learn more by visiting the Metropolitan Council's environmental information page.

The Blue Line Extension Corridor Management Committee signaled their support for advancing the analysis of the staff-recommended light rail track route and general station locations for the Blue Line Extension LRT Project.

The advisory body of elected officials and nonelected community representatives passed a resolution Sept. 14 in support of the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County continuing to advance the track route and stations through the federal environmental review process.

The route will be further studied through preparation of a document known as the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. This further analysis will bring a more detailed understanding of the potential opportunities and impacts of the route through additional engineering, design, community engagement and environmental evaluation.

"This is a big milestone for the project. Now that we have a better idea of where our tracks could go to best serve the community and general station locations to study, we will be able to develop enough detail to answer questions about how the project will benefit residents and businesses. We will also be able to address how to avoid or address impacts during construction and from train operations,” Project Director Christine Beckwith said.

Continued commitment to community prosperity

The resolution includes a strong continued commitment by project partners and stakeholders to continue working together to advance robust strategies for building community prosperity and avoiding displacement. The goal is to maximize benefits of this generational investment to current corridor residents, businesses, and organizations.

The proposed track route and stations

First introduced at the August Corridor Management Committee meeting, the proposed track route extends the existing METRO Blue Line 13.4 miles northwest from Target Field Station connecting north Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Crystal and Brooklyn Park and serving surrounding communities. From north to south, the general route and 12 station locations are:

Brooklyn Park

• West Broadway Avenue to County Road 81, with stations at:
  • Oak Grove Parkway
  • 93rd Avenue North
  • 85th Avenue North
  • Brooklyn Boulevard
  • 63rd Avenue North

Crystal

• County Road 81 with a station at:
  • Bass Lake Road

Robbinsdale

• County Road 81 with stations near:
  • 40th Avenue North
  • Lowry Avenue

Minneapolis

• West Broadway Avenue in north Minneapolis with a station at:
  • Penn Avenue
• 21st Avenue North between North James Avenue and Washington Avenue North, with stations near:
  • James Avenue North
  • Lyndale Avenue North
• Washington Avenue to 10^thAvenue North with a station near:
  • Plymouth Avenue
• Oak Lake Avenue to 7^thStreet North, connecting to:
  • Target Field Station in downtown Minneapolis

What the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement will study

The Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement will identify potential project impacts associated with the proposed route. These include business and transportation impacts, impacts to historic properties, land use changes and parks, visual impacts, safety, impacts to soils, water and geological resources, noise, and vibration.

Project staff are preparing the document for submittal to the Federal Transit Administration and will continue to evaluate location and number of stations, considering the project principles and federal rating criteria.

Metropolitan Council members and the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved a grant agreement that will provide $75.3 million in county funds for the METRO Blue Line Extension Light Rail Project to keep project work going through the end of 2024.

The Metropolitan Council voted to accept the funding and approve the agreement Wednesday, Sept. 13. This action follows a unanimous vote by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners to provide the funding and approve the agreement Tuesday, Aug. 22.

The funding will allow the project to

• Continue engineering and consulting services necessary to advance design and environmental analysis
• Continue extensive outreach and engagement efforts
• Advance implementation of strategies to build community prosperity and prevent displacement
• Update ridership projections
• Prepare an updated cost estimate and schedule
• Prepare plans and other technical information required to seek municipal consent from cities along the corridor.
• The funding agreement also establishes a governance process for the project and identifies responsibilities between Hennepin County and the Metropolitan Council.

"We have demonstrated a shared commitment to centering residents, prioritizing those with the most needs, and investing in a manner that allows the people and businesses already in the corridor to thrive,” said Irene Fernando, Hennepin County Board Chair and District 2 Commissioner. “This agreement allows that critical work to continue and gives us a strong partnership structure to maximize benefits of this project for current corridor resident and businesses.”

"The proposed Capital Grant Agreement emphasizes partnership, collaboration, shared decision-making, risk management strategies and transparency within a new governance model,” Metropolitan Council Chair Charlie Zelle said. “We value our strong collaborative partnership with Hennepin County as we continue to innovate in delivering the Blue Line Extension project to connect people to opportunities and bring transformative benefits to the communities it serves.”

Agreement makes major changes in governance compared to previous transitway projects

• The pact authorizes agreements with funding partners for each project phase
• A new governance model, the Project Decisions Board, will be formed to approve and authorize major project decisions. The new board will be made up of two county commissioners, one commissioner from the regional railroad authority and two Metropolitan Council members
• An integrated project office with staff from both Hennepin County and Metropolitan Council leadership roles will continue to work collaboratively to deliver the project
• Streamlined reporting and processes will be implemented that maximize efficiencies for both parties
• Financial roles are clarified.

Financial responsibilities are spelled out between the Council and Hennepin County

• The Council will be responsible for federal funds in a future Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA), with its contributions limited to FFGA and any funds provided to Council specifically for Blue Line Extension. The Council is also responsible for future operations and capital maintenance (not covered in this Capital Grant Agreement)
• Hennepin County is responsible for the local share of funding in engineering and construction phases, including project start-up costs
• Through the new Project Decisions Board, both parties have approval of project budget, contract awards and change orders.

Next steps and a timeline

The action approved by the Council authorizes the project team to advance design plans and complete the municipal consent process beginning in summer 2024 to confirm the final route.

Station study areas

Station study areas for North Minneapolis

The Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County released potential station study areas and corridor concept drawings for the planned METRO Blue Line Extension in July 2021. A potential station study area is a location where the project is considering a station for the light rail.

View the station study areas under "What we shared" below.

How were these potential station study areas determined?

• Previously planned stations
• Stakeholder and community input
• Key destinations
• Transit connections
• 1/2 to 1 mile spacing
• Overall number of stations

NOTE: The total number of stations has not been determined, meaning some potential station locations may be consolidated or eliminated.

How will these potential station study areas be evaluated?

These stations will be studied with regards to the project principles and goals, public engagement, and engineering requirements. Some additional considerations may include population and jobs, available right of way, and existing and future land use.

VisualizationsExample visualization on West Broadway in North Minneapolis

How might light rail look in your community? There are multiple ways light rail and stations can be built. It can run at street level, elevated above the street, and in some cases, tunnels might be used. Different options have different pluses and minuses. Typically, at grade stations offer the most advantages that benefit the community and riders and helps light rail integrate with the surrounding area. At grade is also the easiest to build. But, there are cases when other options might make sense for your community.

Some notes on the visualizations:

• The corridor concept drawings are an extension of the route maps published in March 2021.
• Each concept represents a vision of what Blue Line light rail could look like at individual locations along the considered routes.
• Please note that these visualizations are conceptual in nature and are intended only to further ongoing discussions about route selection,
• Your feedback on these materials will help us refine the route options and be incorporated into a report that will be available in fall 2021

What we shared

View the potential station study areas and light rail visualizations linked below and in the interactive map.

• Brooklyn Park potential station locations and visualizations
• Crystal potential station areas and visualizations
• Robbinsdale potential station areas and visualizations
• Minneapolis potential station areas and visualizations

What we heard

Check back soon for the engagement report!

In March 2021, project partners released revised potential route options for the Blue Line Extension. These routes represent technical and community discussions since a new direction for the project was announced in August 2020 due to the inability to use the BNSF freight rail corridor as previously planned.

These routes provide the best opportunities to deliver a light rail project that maximizes community benefits and connects even more people to jobs, education, healthcare and other key destinations.

Community engagement efforts in Spring of 2021 focused on collecting feedback on these route options, and your voice will continue to be vital as we learn more about station locations, design, possible property impacts and more.

What we shared

• Summary routes for initial consideration (PDF)
• Full initial route evaluation report (PDF)

What we heard

• Route options engagement report (PDF)

In August 2020, Hennepin County and Met Council began exploring opportunities to advance the Blue Line Extension Project without use of the freight railroad corridor, as previously planned. Read more about this project transition here.

To set the table for productive community conversations regarding alternative route options, Phase 1 of community engagement sought to re-activate community relationships, educate community members on the new direction of the project, understand community priorities, and collect recommendations for community engagement to inform future processes aimed at identifying a revised community supported route.

These efforts also sought to acknowledge and build from years of previous engagement on the project.

What we heard

Read the Phase 1 Engagement Report (PDF)