Development booming along Minn. Metro's present, future rail lines

MINNEAPOLIS — Metropolitan Council and St. Paul city officials reported that in roughly two years of operation, more than $4.2 billion in economic development has occurred along Metro Transit’s Green Line, exceeding original projections, which called for $7 billion in development over 30 years, MPR News reports.

The Metropolitan Council has also been tracking development along the Blue Line extension, a planned 13-mile run from downtown Minneapolis to the northwest suburbs, and the Southwest Corridor light rail project, a 14.5 mile route to serve communities west of Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, which have seen $358 million and $430 million in development, respectively.

Despite the faster-than-expected growth, the Council is in the midst of a legal battle with an environmental advocacy group regarding the Southwest Corridor. The lawsuit, filed by the Lakes and Parks Alliance, claims the Metropolitan Council violated federal laws when it picked the Southwest Corridor route that would bring light rail from a shallow tunnel up to a bridge between two popular lakes in south Minneapolis. For the full story, click here.