Some Getting Anxious to See Cost Estimates of St. Louis Park Freight Proposal

For all the analysis around the proposed  from Minneapolis’ Kenilworth Corridor to St. Louis Park, some are growing impatient about one important aspect that isn’t being discussed — cost.

Cost estimates for the reroute haven't yet been presented by Kimley-Horn and Associates, the consultants hired by Hennepin County. The reroute to the MN&S railway, which runs through St. Louis Park, is being looked at because the Kenilworth Corridor is part of the proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit route and corridor freight traffic may need to be cleared to make room. The grassroots citizens group Safety in the Park, which opposes the reroute, wants to see estimates on the plan.

“We believe the county is quite purposely stalling publication of these costs so that there is no simple comparison to be made which will show that the MN&S is, by far, the most expensive re-route option,” Safety in the Park Co-Chair Thom Miller said in an e-mail.

Gail Dorfman, the Hennepin County commissioner who represents St. Louis Park, said this isn’t true. Instead, she said the MN&S study has simply taken longer than anticipated, as a number of complex issues have popped up that have expanded the scope of the study.

“It’s important to do it right, not fast,” the commissioner said of the study. “No one is pushing (Kimley-Horn) to hurry.”

Hennepin County and Kimley-Horn are holding a public meeting Thursday to discuss proposed mitigation efforts in St. Louis Park, as well as further route refinements that might be needed if the Kenilworth traffic is in fact shifted to St. Louis Park. This would bring longer trains into St. Louis Park and speed limits on the track would increase from 10 mph to 25 mph.

Dorfman expects the study to wrap up in May or early June, at which point the county will more seriously study the proposed reroute. She has dismissed notions that the St. Louis Park plan has been somehow set in stone.

“I think we’re open to looking at options,” Dorfman said.

The city of St. Louis Park is looking at other options as well. The city has retained consultant Dave McKenzie of SEH, Inc., who last week presented information to the City Council on a handful of proposals that would keep freight traffic in the Kenilworth Corridor while still making room for light rail.

Ultimately, these proposals have their own trouble spots. Under one scenario, in which freight track and a bike trail currently in the Kenilworth Corridor would both stay put, a number of nearby condos would have to be purchased to make room. Depending on exactly how many condos would need to be acquired, McKenzie said this plan would cost between $60 million and $78 million.

Another plan would remove the bike trail from the corridor. This option, McKenzie said, would likely cost between $30 million and $65 million — again, depending on property and land acquisition — but what to do with the trail would need to be resolved.

The Star Tribune reported that Dave Christianson, manager of freight planning for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, has estimated that a connection needed to make the St. Louis Park reroute possible would cost between $50 million and $70 million. Until Kimley-Horn releases its own cost estimates with the MN&S study, this is the closest point of comparison with the other route possibilities.

St. Louis Park has, by way of City Council resolution (see attached PDF), voiced that it is generally opposed to the reroute and would only accept it if it’s shown that no other route is viable. Kevin Locke, the city’s community development director, said the city will continue to refine its own study and look at other possibilities, but he too said cost estimates from the MN&S study are a vital part of any analysis.

“I think everybody involved is eager to see what the numbers are,” Locke said.

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IF YOU GO

What: MN&S rail study Project Management Team meeting

When: Thursday, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Where: