Thursday midday rail news:
Brightline West aims for spring start to construction of Las Vegas-California line
Brightline West is aiming to start construction of its Las Vegas-Southern California high speed rail project this spring, according to a filing with the Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Brightline West President Sarah Watterson said in a letter to the agency that the project is “on target” to begin construction in the second quarter of 2021 and is updating its funding plan, which includes another attempt to sell the private activity bonds that are a key financing mechanism. The company called off its plans to sell $2.4 billion in bonds in November [see “Las Vegas high speed project postponed …,” Nov. 1, 2020], citing an unfavorable market.
Metro Transit Southwest light rail project will miss 2023 opening because of construction issues
Construction of Metro Transit’s Southwest Light Rail project will take longer than planned because of “unforeseen conditions … which will take longer to overcome,” the Twin Cities-area Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County, Minn., officials have announced, meaning the 14.5-mile line will not open in 2023 as planned. Poor soil at the site of a tunnel in the Kenilworth corridor is requiring a different construction method than originally planned, and a 1-mile protective wall separating the light rail from adjacent BNSF Railway tracks has been added, as required by BNSF, since the completion of final design and construction contracting. “These are no small changes,” a press release reports, “and require thoughtful and deliberate engineering, design plans, and construction methods.” The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports no new opening date is set, and that it is unclear what the delay will mean to the cost of the $2 billion project, already the most expensive public works project in Minnesota history.
DC Metro to close 13 rail stations prior to inauguration
DC Metro will close 13 stations near the U.S. Capitol and National Mall for a week as of Friday because of the possibility of violent protests in the period leading to the presidential inauguration. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will begin closing the stations on Friday, and they will remain closed though Jan. 21. Eleven stations will be closed Friday, with two more closing on Saturday. Twenty-six bus routes will also be detoured around the security zone around the capitol. More details are available here.
