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Backers Say Suit Jeopardizes Light Rail

MINNEAPOLIS-Xcel Energy says it should not have to pay $18 in utility relocation costs. A delay in construction of the 11.6-mile Hiawatha project could prompt the federal government may stop funding, backers say.

By Jim McCartney | Updated on May 03, 2001

MINNEAPOLIS-A lawsuit by a Twin Cities utility company could derail the $675-million Minneapolis light-rail project. If Xcel Energy’s lawsuit over utility relocation inDowntown continues to delay construction, the federal government may stop funding the project, which would spell the end of the rail line.

At least that’s what light-rail planners say in court documents. So far, the 11.6-mile Hiawatha project, which will run from Downtown to the Mall of America and is scheduled for completion by December 2004, is still on track.

At issue in the most recent court case is responsibility for the cost of moving the complex mix of underground clay ducts, high-voltage transmission lines and other Xcel Energy equipment that lie under Fifth Street in Downtown. The developers say Xcel Energy’s refusal to move its utilities is already seriously jeopardizing the Feb. 1, 2002, deadline for all utilities to be out of the Fifth Street corridor, according to court papers. A supporting Metropolitan Council memorandum says it would take at least eight months for Xcel to complete the relocation of its equipment — and the work must start by the end of this month or the entire light-rail project will be at risk, according to thecouncil.

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