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Case Studies

Hiawatha Light Rail Transit

  • Project PhotoLocation: Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • P3 Option: New Build Facilities - Design Build

  • Mode: Light Rail Transit

  • Description: The Hiawatha Light Rail began partial service in June 2004 and fully opened in December 2004. It links downtown Minneapolis with Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America. The corridor is 12 miles in length, with 17 stations (and two others set to open at the end of 2009), and 24 light rail vehicles.

    The project utilized two separate design-build contracts: one for light rail vehicles, and one to place rail, signal, and communication equipment along the alignment.

    Although design-build contracts are used for most of the LRT route, Metropolitan Airport Commission officials opted on a design-bid-build procurement for the two 7,400 foot airport tunnels underneath MSP International. This decision was based on the risk of tunneling below two runways and building two underground stations.

  • Sponsor: Metropolitan Council and Minnesota Department of Transportation

  • Cost: $715.3 million

  • Type of Finance: Federal, State, and Local grants

  • Revenue Sources:
    $334.3 million FTA Section 5309 New Starts
    $49.8 million Federal Surface Transportation Program and Congestion Mitigation Air Quality
    $39.9 million Federal Transit Capital Grant
    $100.0 million State of Minnesota
    $20.1 million Minnesota Department of Transportation
    $84.2 million Hennepin County
    $87.0 million Metropolitan Airports Commission

  • Project Delivery / Contract Method:

    2 Design-Build procurements

    1 Design-Bid-Build procurement

  • Private Design-Build Partners:

    LRT vehicles - Bombardier

    Rail/Systems - Granite Construction Inc, with Parsons Transportation Group, Maple Grove , C.S. McCrossen and Edwards and Kelcey

  • Private Design-Bid-Build Partners:

    Airport Tunnel

    HNTB (design)

    Joint venture of Obayashi Corporation and Johnson Brothers Corporation (construction)

  • Lenders: None

  • Status: Partial opening June 2004, full revenue service December 2004

  • Innovations: Combination of multiple federal funding sources and multiple state and local match sources.

    Innovative mix of design-build and design-bid-build procurements.

  • Related Links / Articles:
    Metro Transit

    Metropolitan Council

  • Contacts:

    Mark Fuhrmann
    Chief Financial Officer
    Metropolitan Council
    Tel:(612) 215-8255

    Ed Hunter
    Project Director
    Hiawatha Project Office
    Tel:(612) 215-8254

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