A friend forwarded Bluestem a press release from the Minnesota Department of Transportation announcing the release of the Alternatives Analysis report on the part of the Zip Rail partners, but a news brief published last week in the Red Wing Republican Eagle has us wondering if the document release will matter.
Report: Olmsted County Regional Railroad Authority transferring grant to private sector
In January 20's Goodhue County Board briefs: Olmsted gives Zip Rail update, Michael Bruns reports:
Responding to a request by Goodhue County Commissioner Dan Rechtzigel for an update on Zip Rail, Olmsted County Regional Railroad Authority replied it is in the process of closing out a grant for the project and transferring it to the private sector, Goodhue County Administrator Scott Arneson said at Tuesday’s Goodhue County Board meeting.
Olmsted County partnered with Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Authority to evaluate the possibility of a high-speed passenger line from the Twin Cities to Rochester. Goodhue County residents and government representatives have been included in committees for the controversial project that opponents say would be costly and unnecessary.
“One thing to remember is once it goes to the private sector, these Technical Advisory and Citizen Advisory committees, they won’t have to have those,” Goodhue County Commissioner Brad Anderson said.
The private sector entity is the North American High Speed Rail Group, which we've been chronicling here as its memories of development snake across the divide of public and process. The TAC and CAC for the ZipRail investment plan and Tier 1 EIS meet on January 28, but those meddlers may soon be out of the way.
The consulting engineer for the Olmsted County Regional Railroad Authority, Chuck Michael also consults for the North American High Speed Rail Group, according to reports in the Rochester Post Bulletin. We noted the connection in CEO out at North American High Speed Rail Group; consultant's contracts draw scrutiny.
The Republican Eagle article documents a nice example of transfer of work done on the public's dime to a private entity which insists it will never require public funding, then closing down any public oversight. We're sure the hicksters will appreciate both the pelf and the loss of transparency, should eminent domain condemnation hearings ever commence or the ever-evolving management of the North American High-Speed Rail Group come hat-in-hand to the state legislature.
Here's the press release and the report. Another friend has sent us billing documents and a February 2015 draft of the report (someone's time dragged on there) obtained via the data practices request process, and we'll have more after we get a chance to assess the information therein.
In the meantime, enjoy your potholes, drivers, and your shelterless bus stops, inner city commuter friends.
MNDOT announces release of report
The press release:
The Minnesota Department of Transportation today announced that an Alternatives Analysis report for the Zip Rail project has been released and is available to the public.
The analysis is a step in the environment review for the project and identifies eight alternatives for a proposed high-speed rail line between the Twin Cities metropolitan area and Rochester, Minn.
The report was developed in collaboration with the Olmsted County Regional Railroad Authority and the Federal Railroad Administration, and documents the passenger rail corridor alternatives between Rochester and the Twin Cities.
The study area is located in the counties of Dakota, Dodge, Goodhue, Hennepin, Olmsted, Ramsey and Rice.
The Alternative Analysis report is available at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/
ziprail/docs/alternatives- analysis-rpt-jan2016.pdf
The document:
Alternatives Analysis Rpt Jan2016
Photo: The Snowpiercer, another passenger rail project.
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