The METRO Green Line Extension (Southwest LRT or SWLRT) will serve downtown Minneapolis and the communities of St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie. Slated to begin service in 2023, the Green Line Extension is the largest public infrastructure project in the history of the State of Minnesota. The proposed line includes 16 new light rail stations, each situated in a unique context from the core of the region to growing suburban communities. The project also includes eight park and rides with nearly 2,700 new parking spaces, passenger amenities, improvements to bicycle and pedestrian access, as well as new or restructured local bus routes connecting stations to nearby residential, commercial, and educational destinations. The line will connect major activity centers in the region including downtown Minneapolis, Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, downtown Hopkins and the Opus/Golden Triangle employment area in Minnetonka and Eden Prairie.
SRF served on the consultant team for the Preliminary Engineering Contract, the Advanced Design Contract and the Quality Management contract. SRF provided the leadership for the Civil Engineering efforts for the Western Segment from 11th Avenue in Hopkins, through Minnetonka to the end-of-line in Eden Prairie. This lead role provided oversight for the roadway design, trail design, drainage design, utilities, surveying, geotechnical, traffic signal design, ITS design, and lighting design.
This leadership role included serving in a deputy project manager function (Preliminary Engineering) and contract package manager function (Advanced Design) that included coordination with the LRT Track & Systems teams, Structures Team, Architectural Team, and Operations & Maintenance Facility Team, the Metropolitan Council & Metro Transit, SouthWest Transit, the consultant team for the Transitional Area Action Plan (TSAAP), and the Metro Transit / consultant team for the Supplemental Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements.
SRF has fulfilled numerous roles in the development of this critical infrastructure project, and collaborated across SRF’s service lines, partner firms, and various regional agencies. Services SRF has provided on the Green Line Extension include:
- Contract package management for Western Segment
- Roadway and trail design
- Station area planning and design
- Traffic forecasting, operations and simulation
- Title VI Equity Analysis
- Park & ride sizing, siting and design
- Traffic signal analysis and design
- Intelligent Transportation System design
- Lighting design support
- Preliminary bridge and tunnel design
- Station site design and development
- Streetscape design and development
- Operations and maintenance facility siting and landscape design
- Cost Estimates
- Construction Management and Quality Inspection