Three lawsuits--only one of which is still pending--have added more than a million dollars to the Central Corridor light rail construction project. Taxpayers are on the line for the extra costs but the Metropolitan Council says it doesn't anticipate any cost overruns.

The Metropolitan Council has decided not to award a nearly $100 million contract to URS Corp. Instead, the Star Tribune reports the agency divided engineering work for the $1.25 billion Southwest Corridor light-rail line into four separate contracts. San Francisco-based URS will still be allowed to bid on the smaller contracts, despite its involvement with the Sabo pedestrian bridge and the Interstate 35W bridge before it collapsed in August 2007.

The Gateway Corridor Commission says there isn't enough space on the Interstate 94 bridge overlooking the St. Croix River for a light rail transit crossing.

A Central Corridor light rail construction worker lost his hand and foot after heavy machinery rolled over on him Tuesday. The worker for contractor Ames Construction was working on an overpass near I-35W when the mobile lift he was in toppled over.

Cravaack says the federal government needs to fix its aging roadways before spending money on rail transportation. The Northern Lights Express project was recently awarded a $5 million federal grant to put together a development plan.