The following MPR report by Cathy Wurzer was broadcast on March 13, 2014:
MINNEAPOLIS PARK BOARD COMMISSIONER SAYS NEW SWLRT TUNNEL PLAN REQUIRES A DEEPER LOOK
There is yet another new proposal on the table to solve one of the trickiest questions about the proposed Southwest light rail line. The big sticking point has been how to fit a bike trail, freight rail tracks and new light rail tracks through the narrow and scenic Kenilworth Corridor between Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis.
A plan to bury the new tracks in a deep tunnel through the area was shelved because it was too expensive. And neighbors oppose a proposal for a cheaper, “shallow tunnel” where the light rail trains would have to surface long enough to cross a channel between the lakes.
The latest proposal was described by one county commissioner as the “the deeper shallow tunnel.” At the request of Minneapolis Park Board commissioners, the Metropolitan Council is now looking into a hybrid of the tunnel plans that would take trains under the channel after all.
MPR’s Cathy Wurzer spoke with Minneapolis Park Board Commissioner Anita Tabb, who represents the Kenilworth area, about it. You can listen to the interview here:
• Related: Planners present new ‘deeper shallow tunnel’ option for Southwest light rail route (March 13, 2014) http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/03/12/planners-present-new-option-for-southwest-light-rail-route
