Southwest Light Rail construction audit released: What it says

Southwest Light rail construction update

An audit was held for the Southwest Light Rail's construction. FOX 9's Soyoung Kim has the details.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A performance audit of the controversial Southwest Light Rail's construction found "instances of noncompliance," according to the report released Monday by the Office of the Legislative Auditor's Financial Audit Division.

What the SWLRT audit found

Southwest Light Rail construction audit presentation [RAW]

The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor's Financial Audit Division released a performance audit on the Southwest Light Rail's construction, finding "instances of noncompliance." The Southwest Light Rail will connect Eden Prairie to downtown Minneapolis. The project has faced delays in construction and cost overruns, and is now expected to open in 2027.

Local perspective:

This audit focused on construction activities for the Southwest Light Rail, which was overseen by the Metropolitan Council and performed by contractor Lunda/C.S. McCrossan Joint Venture.

Reports shows SWLRT project is behind schedule, over budget

The latest audit in the Southwest Light Rail Transit project shows it remains behind its original schedule and over budget.

"We found that the Metropolitan Council had instances of noncompliance and weaknesses in internal controls in the areas of change orders, disadvantaged business enterprises, contaminated soils, and monitoring of physical security. In addition, we found that Lunda/C.S. McCrossan Joint Venture had instances of noncompliance in the areas of disadvantaged business enterprises and physical security," the report says.

Here's the full report:

Lawmakers react to audit

What they're saying:

Lawmakers were critical of the Met Council during the presentation on Monday. Sen. Calvin Bahr (R-East Bethel) said there is a "big problem" with the Met Council with the way they conduct business, noting all three of the light rail projects have gone over budget and it's "like you don't care."

Southwest LRT delays

The backstory:

The Southwest Light Rail, which will connect Eden Prairie to downtown Minneapolis, has faced criticism because it is taking longer than expected to construct, and it's costing a lot more.

The Southwest Light Rail was initially scheduled to open in 2023, but the opening date has been delayed to 2027. According to officials on Monday, the project is 85% complete.

The original project budget for the Southwest LRT was $1.25 billion. As of January 2024, the project budget had ballooned to $2.86 billion. The report notes Met Council awarded the Southwest LRT civil construction contract to the joint venture for $799.5 million, but issues quickly arose after breaking ground in 2019, which caused "costly change orders and delays." The contract budget was then increased to $1.065 billion.

This was the latest report on the project from the Office of the Legislative Auditor. The office launched its probe into the project in 2022. Previous reports highlighted issues between the Metropolitan Council and the contractor for the project; funding gaps in the project; delays in construction of the transit line; and criticism of the Met Council for not being transparent with the public about the issues the project was facing, among other things.