Useful Links
Central Corridor
This page last updated Monday, January 4, 2010 3:17 PM
New: Updates on project from the Met Council, December 2009
Construction Update available
Earlier Postings
Met Council chair responds to UM Central Corridor concerns
Minority- and women-owned businesses newsletter available
Public comments on FEIS due July 27
Soil borings to affect University Ave parking
Xcel Energy crews will begin advanced utility relocation the week of July 6 on Minnesota Street south of Fourth Street in downtown St. Paul in anticipation of Central Corridor LRT construction in 2010. Please don’t talk to crews or go around barriers into construction zones. Schedules are subject to changes due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances! Check the project web site frequently for updates.
The Metropolitan Council is collecting public comments and feedback on the Central Corridor LRT station art concepts as they continue to work on the designs. Summary descriptions and sketches of the May 2009 concepts are posted online here. Use the Comment Card links to submit comments by June 2 to the outreach coordinator listed at the bottom of each card. If you have questions or comments, please contact the outreach coordinator for your area of concern listed at the bottom of each description. Or you can email comments. More information about the LRT project is available online here.
Public Art Visioning Sessions Scheduled in March. Click here for a list of meetings by station area
Met Council Publishes University Ave streetscaping sketches. Click here to read more
For a list of sites to view copies of the preliminary Corridor plans, click here
For a PDF of the plans, click here (Note: These are large files)
Ramsey County Public Comment Record, June 2008
The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners held a pair of public hearings and received writtem comments this spring before it voted June 24 to approve preliminary design plans for the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line between St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Click here to go to the public comment page
Click here to read the resolution of municipal consent approved June 24, 2008
Click Here: To read the project's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Spring 2006)
Click Here: To read public comment on the DEIS (Summer 2006)
Click Here: To read the notice of intent to prepare a supplemental DEIS (March 2008)
Click Here: For frequently asked questions about the corridor
Click Here: To see an animation of what the LRT corridor might look like
The Central Corridor is an 11-mile transit line connecting Minnesota’s Union Depot Multi-Modal Transit Hub to downtown Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, as well as several vibrant residential and commercial neighborhoods in between. The Central Corridor LRT has a projected average weekday ridership of 43,000 people by 2030.
In the summer of 2006, after years of study and community engagement led by the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority, the Met Council selected light rail transit as the preferred mode along the corridor. The Federal Transit Administration approved preliminary engineering on the line in December 2006.
Ramsey County will remain an active and engaged partner with the Met Council, Hennepin County, the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and other agencies working on this exciting project. While the federal government is expected to pick up about half of the project’s $930 million cost, Ramsey County will be providing a major portion of the local share.
Click on the map below for a downloadable map of the proposed route (104k PDF file) 
The Central Corridor project will mean:
- Less traffic congestion for Twin Cities residents and visitors.
- Better access to jobs, shopping, education, sports and entertainment venues.
- Businesses in the Central Corridor will benefit from increased visibility and the additional development that will follow transit improvements.
- A reduction in dangerous emissions and improvement in air quality.
- Sustained growth for the Midway business district, one of the fastest-growing commercial and residential areas in the Twin Cities, and one of the most congested.