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Minneapolis (AP) ― The Metropolitan Council is facing tough choices as it looks at cutting $200 million from the price tag of the planned light-rail line linking Minneapolis and St. Paul in order to obtain needed federal money.

That's going to mean jettisoning or delaying one of three popular options. On the chopping block are: a proposed tunnel through the University of Minnesota campus, a sidewalk-to-sidewalk reconstruction of the proposed route along University Avenue, or using historic Union Depot as the end of the route in St. Paul.

"There are very, very tough decisions ahead," said Ramsey County Commission Toni Carter, who serves on the Central Corridor management committee. "This is a huge investment and we want to make sure that it will have the value that we anticipated it would."

As currently planned, the project is too expensive to qualify for federal funding, which is critical. In order to qualify, the Metropolitan Council needs to get the cost down to $820 million by early next year.

The project is currently budgeted at $932 million, but the Federal Transit Administration is also recommending another $90 million for three-car train platforms, a storage building and to account for inflation. That puts the total budget at $200 million over the transit administration's cost-benefit index for rating viable projects to fund.

But cutting any of the three is likely to make the project run up against important partners. Already, Ramsey County is threatening to pull its funding if the rail line doesn't extend all the way to Union Depot.

Doing without the tunnel under Washington Avenue through the heart of the campus could save $155 million. But that would force the trains to navigate through an area heavily traveled by students.

More than 3,000 pedestrians cross Washington Avenue at Harvard Street every weekday at lunchtime, said Bob Baker, executive director of university parking and transportation services.

"If you were a rail operator, could you imagine trying to drive through the bikes, and the buses and the pedestrians at the university?" Baker said. "Pretty scary thought."

Merchants and community boosters along University Avenue are hoping for a rebuilt street, with wide sidewalks, trees, grass, streetlights, bike racks and public art adding to what they see as a renaissance for the long-neglected boulevard.

Eliminating the facelift would save $55 million. But the Midway Chamber says that would be a mistake.

"The long-term goal is to get a beautiful, unified look out of this," said Lori Fritts, the chamber president. "Nothing has been done for University Avenue for a very, very long time because everyone has been waiting for this."

In downtown St. Paul, planners could save $72 million by ending the rail line on 4th Street instead of at the historic Union Depot, which is now a post office. But with Congress promising an additional $50 million, Ramsey County commissioners want the depot to become an east-metro transit hub serving light rail, buses, commuter rail, Amtrak and high-speed trains to Chicago.

"Starting at the depot is very important," to St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, who also believes the University Avenue improvements "are extraordinarily important," his policy director Nancy Homans said.

Coleman won't set priorities until he sees cost estimates, Homans said. She said he's gone out of his way to not draw lines in the sand.

Engineers are scheduled to begin preliminary design work in June that will provide updated cost estimates for the Met Council to make the necessary budget decisions.

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