# Southwest Light Rail *Light-rail transit project in Minnesota, built under the Metropolitan Council and reviewed by the Office of the Legislative Auditor in 2011 and 2023.* Southwest Light Rail (SWLRT), catalogued on Wikipedia as the METRO Green Line Extension, is a light-rail project in [[Minnesota]] whose construction is managed by the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]]. All of the Council's members are appointed by the [[governor]].[^1][^2] In March 2023 the [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]] (OLA) reported that the project's cost had risen from $2.003 billion in 2019 to $2.767 billion. In the same report it described a $92.7 million [[corridor protection barrier]] let without competitive bidding.[^3][^4] The March 2023 report found that the Council "was not fully transparent about the project's delays and cost increases." It also found that the Council "did not hold its civil construction contractor accountable for repeated failures to provide an acceptable project schedule."[^4] A validated project passage records that the Council's answer appears inside the same report: the Council had made a "reasonable choice to manage the construction of light rail lines."[^3][^4] A second OLA report, on the Council's oversight of contractors, followed on June 28, 2023.[^5] Twelve years before the cost findings, in January 2011, the OLA had reported on transit governance in the region. It found that the Council's regional transit planning role "has been hampered by how members are appointed" and recommended a Council of both appointed and elected members on staggered terms.[^6][^7] Minn. Stat. § 473.123, as currently published, still provides for sixteen governor-appointed district members and a governor-appointed chair, with terms that end with the governor's.[^1] ## Who The Metropolitan Council is the entity that builds the line. Under [[Minn. Stat. § 473.123]], its sixteen members are appointed by the governor from districts of substantially equal population. A seventeenth voting member, the chair, is also appointed by the governor, with Senate advice and consent. Members' terms end with the governor's term, and no member is elected.[^1] The Council lists its current members' terms as running from July 3, 2023, to January 4, 2027.[^2] The OLA's March 2023 report described a "mismatch between the entities that fund" the project and the entity that builds it. It named Hennepin County as a funding partner with limited oversight.[^4] The project's at-issue record states that Carver County contributed nothing to the $219 million Counties Transit Improvement Board (CTIB) share because it had refused to join that board. That record draws on the OLA and the *Star Tribune*; the pack does not carry the primary document for the figure.[^8] The 2011 OLA report recorded that stakeholders "did not think that Met Council members are sufficiently accountable for their decisions." It concluded that "the structure of the Met Council must be addressed before other aspects of transit governance can be corrected."[^6][^7] ## What The OLA examined the project in two 2023 reports: - *Southwest Light Rail Transit Construction: Metropolitan Council Decision Making*, released March 15, 2023.[^3] - *Southwest Light Rail Transit Construction: Metropolitan Council Oversight of Contractors*, released June 28, 2023.[^5] The decision-making report found that the Council "obligated funds it did not have." It also found that the Council was not fully transparent about delays and cost increases, and that a $92.7 million corridor protection barrier was let without competitive bidding.[^3][^4] The project's at-issue record, citing the Legislative Auditor, states that three change orders drove more than half of $225 million in cumulative SWLRT construction change orders:[^9] - an Eden Prairie station at $11.4 million; - a freight rail barrier wall at $82.6 million; - a change in the Kenilworth tunnel construction method at $30 million. ## When - **January 2011**: the OLA publishes *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region*, finding that the method of appointing Council members had hampered its transit planning role.[^6][^7] - **2011**: according to the project's at-issue record, the line is estimated at $1.25 billion, with a 2018 opening.[^8] - **2019**: the cost stands at $2.003 billion, the baseline the OLA used in its March 2023 report.[^4] - **March 15, 2023**: the OLA issues its decision-making report, putting the cost at $2.767 billion.[^3][^4] - **June 28, 2023**: the OLA issues its report on Council oversight of contractors.[^5] - **2027**: the opening year given in the project's at-issue record. Against the 2011 schedule, that is a nine-year delay.[^8] ## Where The project's at-issue record states that the line terminates in Eden Prairie, one city short of the Carver County line.[^8] Seven of the Metropolitan Council's sixteen districts contain Hennepin County territory. Five of them, Districts 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8, lie entirely within the county. Districts 2 and 3 contain Hennepin territory alongside parts of Anoka, Ramsey and Carver counties.[^10] ## How The OLA's 2023 findings describe how the project was run: - **Funding and building were split.** The report described a mismatch between the funding partners and the building entity, with Hennepin County as a funding partner with limited oversight.[^4] - **A major contract was let without competitive bidding.** This was the $92.7 million corridor protection barrier.[^4] - **The contractor was not held accountable.** The Council did not hold its civil construction contractor accountable for repeated failures to provide an acceptable project schedule.[^4] The governance structure under which these decisions were made is set by § 473.123. The OLA had recommended changing that structure in 2011.[^1][^6] ## How much - **Cost.** The OLA's March 2023 report puts the cost at $2.767 billion, up from $2.003 billion in 2019, an increase of $764 million.[^4] The project's at-issue record gives a later figure of $2.86 billion, drawn from the *Star Tribune* and the OLA, against a 2011 estimate of $1.25 billion. The OLA figure is the highest-ranked source in this record, and the article states it as of March 2023.[^8] - **Corridor protection barrier.** $92.7 million, let without competitive bidding.[^4] - **Change orders.** $225 million in cumulative construction change orders, per the at-issue record. Of these, $11.4 million was for the Eden Prairie station, $82.6 million for the freight rail barrier wall and $30 million for the Kenilworth tunnel method change.[^9] - **CTIB share.** $219 million, with no contribution from Carver County, per the at-issue record.[^8] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record carries three pairs on Southwest Light Rail. Each is set against the White House's March 2025 presidential action *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse*.[^8][^9][^11] - **Pair AI-Carver-069** compares the 2011 estimate and schedule ($1.25 billion; 2018 opening) with the later figure and schedule ($2.86 billion; 2027 opening). It also records that Carver County is absent from the CTIB share.[^8] - **Pair AI-Carver-070** lists the three change orders that drove more than half of the $225 million in cumulative change orders. It records that the project proceeded after the auditor's documentation.[^9] - **[[At issue 048 - The 2011 audit also found that stakeholders did]]** places the OLA's January 2011 finding on Council accountability beside its March 2023 finding that costs rose from $2.003 billion to $2.767 billion.[^11] ## In the Minnesota record ### What - The OLA's two 2023 reports on SWLRT construction: decision making (March 15, 2023) and oversight of contractors (June 28, 2023).[^3][^5] ### When - January 2011: the OLA governance report.[^6] - March 2023: the OLA cost finding of $2.767 billion.[^3][^4] ### Who - The Metropolitan Council: sixteen members and a chair, all appointed by the governor under Minn. Stat. § 473.123.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 473.123* (current) — sixteen Council members appointed by the governor from districts of substantially equal population; a governor-appointed chair as the seventeenth voting member with Senate advice and consent; terms end with the governor's term. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/473.123 [^2]: Metropolitan Council, *Council Members* (current) — current membership and terms, July 3, 2023 – Jan. 4, 2027. https://metrocouncil.org/About-Us/TheCouncil/CouncilMembers.aspx [^3]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Southwest Light Rail Transit Construction: Metropolitan Council Decision Making* (summary, Mar. 15, 2023) — release date and findings on Council decision making, including the Council's response. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2023/swlrt-council-decisions-sum.htm [^4]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Southwest Light Rail Transit Construction: Metropolitan Council Decision Making* (full report, Mar. 2023) — costs rising from $2.003 billion (2019) to $2.767 billion; funding/building mismatch naming Hennepin County; $92.7 million barrier let without competitive bidding; findings on contractor accountability and transparency. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/swlrtcd.pdf [^5]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Southwest Light Rail Transit Construction: Metropolitan Council Oversight of Contractors* (June 28, 2023) — finding on Council oversight of contractors. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2023/swlrt-council-oversight-sum.htm [^6]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region* (summary, Jan. 2011) — Council transit planning role "hampered by how members are appointed"; stakeholder accountability finding; recommendation of appointed and elected members on staggered terms. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2011/transitsum.htm [^7]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region* (report, Jan. 2011) — finding that the Council's structure must be addressed before other aspects of transit governance. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/transsum.pdf [^8]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, pair AI-Carver-069 (sources: auditor.leg.state.mn.us; startribune.com) — $1.25 billion 2011 estimate and 2018 opening; $2.86 billion and 2027 opening; Eden Prairie terminus; $219 million CTIB share without Carver County. The pair's anchor is Executive Office of the President, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (Mar. 2025); the anchor URL does not itself establish the SWLRT figures. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^9]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, pair AI-Carver-070 (source: auditor.leg.state.mn.us) — $225 million cumulative change orders; $11.4 million, $82.6 million and $30 million change orders. The pair's anchor is Executive Office of the President, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (Mar. 2025); the anchor URL does not itself establish the figures. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^10]: Metropolitan Council, *District 1* and parallel district pages (current) — Districts 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 lie entirely within Hennepin County; Districts 2 and 3 contain Hennepin territory alongside Anoka, Ramsey and Carver. https://metrocouncil.org/About-Us/Who-We-Are/CouncilMembers/Council-Districts-Map/District-1.aspx [^11]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, pair AI-048 (source: auditor.leg.state.mn.us) — pairs the OLA's 2011 accountability finding with its March 2023 cost finding. The pair's anchor is Executive Office of the President, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (Mar. 2025). https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/