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Adding a third light-rail line in the Twin Cities region is the most cost-effective way to support area job and population growth, Metropolitan Council officials told state legislators earlier this week during a Senate Capital Investment Committee hearing. It’s also the best way to address road capacity issues in the region, they added.

The agency currently is conducting preliminary engineering for the Southwest light-rail line, a 15-mile corridor that would run between Eden Prairie and downtown Minneapolis. It would connect with the Hiawatha and Central light-rail lines, as well as the Northstar commuter-rail line. The project is one of 10 that the Federal Transit Administration has selected for the New Starts process.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has requested $25 million for the project in his bonding bill. The state’s total share of the $1.25 billion project is $125 million.