254% Cost Overrun and 12 Years Late
16th June 2026
In 2014, a 13-mile extension to Minneapolis’ Blue light-rail line was projected to cost $1.0 billion and open for business in 2020. The latest word is that it is going to cost more than $3.5 billion and won’t begin operating until 2032.
Minneapolis is, of course, run by Democrats.
The line is a northern extension of the region’s first light-rail line, which connected downtown Minneapolis with Bloomington. That line was sold to the public based on claims that it would relieve congestion, but it actually made congestion worse. As reported in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the light-rail line was given priority at traffic lights. Because those lights were coordinated with traffic lights on the para
lel Hiawatha Avenue, the trains interfered with signal coordination on the avenue, a major north-south route in the city.
Engineers tried to fix it but gave up. Moreover, state Representative Phil Krinkie uncovered documents showing that the state knew all along that the light-rail line would make congestion worse, and ignored the problem because “transit had to have an advantage” over driving.
This is why you don’t have rail lines sharing ground level street space. Dallas has the same problem.