Senator John Jasinski Blasts Met Council For Chronic Mismanagement Of SWLRT Construction Costing Taxpayers Billions

Minnesota’s Office of the Legislative Auditor this morning released an evaluation of the Metropolitan Council’s management of Southwest Light Rail construction. The report covered the Metropolitan Council’s plans for the $750 million it has requested to complete the project; Metropolitan Council accountability for construction problems; and transparency about project changes that caused increased costs and schedule delays. The Minnesota Senate unanimously voted to audit Southwest Light Rail in 2022. 

The Audit found that:

  • Prior to construction, the federal government was concerned about the Metropolitan Council’s ability to pay overruns; the Metropolitan Council did not put in place contingency plans when they did not have funds to finish the project
  • The Metropolitan Council knowingly submitted incomplete construction plans to solicit bids for the project
  • The Metropolitan Council lacked transparency on the costs and did not adequately inform the public of future costs

Senate Transportation Committee Ranking Republican member John Jasinski (R-Faribault) issued the following statement:

“Southwest Light Rail is a boondoggle of historic proportions, and the Metropolitan Council has utterly failed in its management of the project. This has been glaringly obvious, but the Legislative Auditor’s report is an important chronicle for the history books. We thank them for their work.

“Not another penny of state money should be spent on Southwest Light Rail. That should go without saying. We have no confidence in the Metropolitan Council to properly manage or complete the project, let alone to do so with any fiscal prudence or at any value to the taxpayers. There should be absolutely no more state dollars contributed to this project. 

“The failures of Southwest Light Rail have caused the Auditor to sound the alarm for future rail projects. Other expensive and controversial train proposals including those in Gov. Walz’s budget should not go forward without a serious change in the legislative and administrative process. Taxpayer dollars shouldn’t get sent down the drain on unused train projects instead of repairing potholes, improving our roads and bridges, and increasing safety in our transportation system.”