U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood to visit Central Corridor light rail project
St. Paul, MN – On Monday, Sept. 19, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff will meet with workers on the future site of the Central Corridor Light Rail Project’s Union Depot Station in St. Paul, and will call on Congress to pass the American Jobs Act and make significant investments in job-creating transportation projects across the country.
He will be joined by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, Metropolitan Council Chair Sue Haigh, members of the Congressional Delegation and other local leaders for a tour of the Union Depot Station worksite.
In April, FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff signed a $474 million Full Funding Grant Agreement for the construction of the 11-mile Central Corridor Light Rail Project that links the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, one of the most heavily traveled corridors in the region. The Central Corridor line, which includes 18 new stations, 31 new rail cars and a new vehicle maintenance facility in St. Paul, is scheduled to open in 2014. By the year 2030, it is expected that the line will carry more than 40,000 passengers on weekdays. The Metropolitan Council estimates that construction of the Central Corridor LRT will generate more than 3,400 project-specific jobs.
The Union Depot Light Rail Station sits immediately in front of Union Depot, which is under renovation. More than $124 million in federal funding will go into the renovation, including $35 million in TIGER Funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The renovation will generate more than 3,000 jobs and will create a multi-modal transit hub for the community.
WHO:
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton
Metropolitan Council Chair Sue Haigh
Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff
U.S. Representative Betty McCollum
U.S. Representative Keith Ellison
WHAT:
Project Tour and Press Conference on Need for Transportation Investments
WHEN:
Monday, Sept. 19 at 9:30 a.m.
WHERE:
Corner of East 4th St. and N. Wacouta St. in St. Paul (CCLRT construction of the Union Depot LRT station, immediately in front of Union Depot)
