Central Corridor recovers from seasonal delays

Central Corridor officials say the project has recovered from early season construction delays caused by wet weather, said spokeswoman Laura Baenen.

The light rail project connecting downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis achieved its construction goal for the season by mid July, Baenen said.

Yet another Central Corridor construction goal is to finish sidewalks, curbs, gutters and restore two lanes of traffic on University Avenue from the Minneapolis border to Hamline Avenue in St. Paul before cold weather ends the season.

The light rail trains are expected to be running by 2014. Baenen said the price tag for the project remains unchanged at about $957 million.

"The Central Corridor project has surpassed already its 2011 goal for completing twenty percent of the construction work and that occurred in July," Baenen said.

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said construction of sidewalks, curbs, gutters and the restoration of two lanes of traffic would be complete as far as Raymond Avenue by the end of the season. The current version is correct.