Light-rail total grows $50 million

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The price for the Hiawatha Avenue light-rail line has grown from $625 million to $675 million, Metro Transit reported.

The higher figure does not reflect increased spending for the light-rail line, Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons said Thursday. Instead, it reflects the Federal Transit Administration's preference that the budget include about $50 million in federal money that was allocated separately for parking and road improvements but will support the line.

The 11.6-mile line will run between downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America in Bloomington. It awaits final congressional approval.

Some light-rail opponents have said that state officials purposely weren't counting the price of key elements of the project to keep the official cost down and make the project more salable.