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Minnesota Department of Transportation Jan. 17 broke ground on the state’s first light-rail line, Hiawatha, at the future Yard & Shops site in Minneapolis.


The 11.6-mile line would include 17 stations, and connect downtown Minneapolis, Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and Mall of America. A 24-hour hotline launched Jan. 18 would provide construction updates and provide a venue to address people’s questions and concerns.


Metro Transit would provide service on the line, which Metropolitan Council would own.


The $675 million project would be funded, in part, by a $334 million Federal Transit Administration Full Funding Grant Agreement that completed Congressional Review Jan. 14.


The first segment, from downtown Minneapolis to Fort Snelling, is scheduled to open by 2003; the entire line, by the end of 2004.