| Federal Transit Administration signs off on Northstar Commuter Rail project |
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| Wednesday, 10 October 2007 | ||
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by Peter Bodley Managing editor The Northstar Commuter Rail project is on the move. The full funding grant agreement is now at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which has 30 days to do something or nothing before sending it on to Congress, according to Anoka County Commissioner Dan Erhart, chairman of both the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) and the Anoka County Regional Rail Authority. But from what Erhart has been told, OMB is expected to give its blessing to the full funding grant agreement by Friday, Oct. 19, he said. Congress has 60 days to act on the full funding agreement - to do something or nothing, Erhart said - and then it becomes a reality. It will mean the federal dollars for the project are assured, but more importantly, the state bonds for Northstar approved by the 2005 and 2006 Minnesota Legislature are freed up, he said. Those bonds total $98 million, of which only $10 million has been released to date by the state. “The key was the approval from the Chicago office of the FTA,” Erhart said. “It scrutinized the project to the ultimate limits.” FTA approval makes the project 99.9 percent sure of becoming a reality, according to Erhart. “Getting the approval from the FTA regional office was the main hurdle,” said Tim Yantos, executive director of both the NCDA and the Anoka County Regional Rail Authority. “We are very pleased.” According to Erhart, if all goes without a hitch, the full funding grant agreement should be in place by mid-December. And that’s important because the next payment to the Burlington-Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) for the perpetual easement it granted NCDA for the use of its tracks is due about that time. Late last month the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Transit Office a $5,659,028 grant for the project to help pay the scheduled easement payment to BNSF. The grant was announced by U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-MN. “The completion of the Northstar project is extremely important to the people of Minnesota as it will have a major impact on the state’s economy, provide new jobs, decrease our reliance on foreign oil and alleviate traffic congestion,” said Coleman in a press release. “This grant is another important step toward the final completion of this critical project and I thank the Department of Transportation for its continued commitment to Northstar and the people of Minnesota.” While approval of the full funding grant agreement means the federal government will pay its $158 million share of the $320 million project cost, the money does not become available right away, Yantos said. Some $30 million of the federal pot has previously been approved and spent, he said. But the federal government requires submission of invoices once the work is completed before the money is disbursed, according to Yantos. “There is always a delay in getting the federal dollars,” Yantos said. The wait for the full funding agreement has meant that the NCDA and the Anoka, Hennepin and Sherburne counties regional rail authorities have had to use available cash and short-term borrowing to get some of the construction projects off the ground so that Northstar can meet its target opening of November 2009. The Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority is paying upfront costs for the construction work in downtown Minneapolis for the Northstar link with the Hiawatha light rail line. Construction has been under way since June in conjunction with the new Minnesota Twin ballpark project, which is located adjacent to the rail links and the Northstar station. Anoka and Sherburne counties are sharing the cost of paying upfront a portion of the construction costs of the Northstar maintenance building in Big Lake, on which work started in July. To pay its share, the Anoka County Regional Rail Authority approved a $7.2 million loan in the form of a subordinated limited tax note through Wells Fargo Brokerage Services LLC at an interest rate of 3.95 percent. Closing took place in September on the one-year loan. “The FTA and the state will reimburse the interest costs that are incurred,” Yantos said. Five reconstructed locomotives have been ordered for delivery by the summer of 2008 and a contract is being reviewed for the 17 Northstar coaches for delivery in spring of 2009, according to Yantos. The NCDA is planning to go out for bids for the Northstar stations in November with construction to start in the spring of 2008 and completion in 2009. There will be stations in Big Lake, Elk River, Anoka, Coon Rapids and Minneapolis. A planned station in Fridley has been deferred, but efforts are under way to revive that project. The Northstar commuter rail line will run on the Burlington-Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks from Minneapolis to Big Lake through Anoka County. Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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