Central Corridor Light Rail Transit : University of Minnesota

Our Position

The University of Minnesota is working with the Metropolitan Council and other agencies to bring to life a light rail transit line that will service the Twin Cities campus. The Central Corridor line will run along Washington and University Avenues as it connects downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul. This new line will serve both East and West Bank campuses. At the east edge of campus, the Stadium Village station will serve the Biomedical Discovery District, local businesses, and visitors of our sports arenas, including the new TCF Bank Stadium.

As light rail becomes part of campus, it remains essential that research programs and research infrastructure not be compromised. The CCLRT will travel down Washington Avenue, which is Minnesota’s most productive research corridor. More than 80 labs in 17 buildings along or in close proximity to this corridor will be adversely impacted by vibration or electromagnetic interference (EMI) from CCLRT if proper mitigation steps are not taken. One research facility alone, the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) facility in Hasselmo Hall, which will be less than 80 feet from the CCLRT tracks, generates $110 million in grant funding, and supports 160 researchers across 22 University departments, undergraduate and graduate teaching, as well as research by private sector companies. Research conducted by University of Minnesota faculty in all of these labs contributes to economic growth and enhances the health of our community, the state and the world.

The University of Minnesota has been a committed, constructive partner in the planning of the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit (CCLRT) line for many years. The University believes a strengthened metropolitan transit system that includes CCLRT contributes to the success of the state, the region, and the University.

Tim Mulcahy, the U's Vice-President for research, tells viewers: "We’ve been working with the light rail project now for a number of months to try to identify adequate solutions that will allow a win-win outcome - protect our research while preserving the opportunity to put the light rail line along Washington Avenue."
(PDF transcript available here).

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