estimates placed the cost of the light rail line in 2003, at about US$957 million, with the increase primarily due to inflation over the following decade. On June 6, 2006, the light rail option was endorsed by the Central Corridor Coordinating Committee. The Metropolitan Council gave final approval to this decision on June 28, 2006. The existing Blue Line has exceeded ridership predictions, as is the case with many other light rail lines constructed in the U.S. during the last decade. This led to some delays for the Central Corridor project because local transit officials were forced to retool ridership models before submitting projections to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The Metropolitan Council, which operates Metro Transit, submitted numbers showing that a light rail line would carry 43,000 passengers daily by the year 2030. The FTA agreed that the line would be cost-effective at this level, a key requirement for obtaining federal funding. In April 2008, Governor Tim Pawlenty initially vetoed $70 million in funding for the Central Corridor project, along with other items, from the state budget. The funding was part of a state-local package of $227 million necessary to get federal transportation funds, and the future of the project was in doubt until May 18, 2008, when a revised bonding bill including the $70 million for the Central Corridor was passed in the Legislature and signed into law by the governor. In August 2009 the Central Corridor project received a Record of Decision from the Federal Transit Administration. The FTA found the project to have fully and accurately completed its environmental documentation with the publication of the Final Environmental Impact statement earlier in the summer, thus clearing the project for final design. Construction The first construction began in late 2010, including work in downtown St. Paul and near the University of Minnesota campus. By November 2011, construction was about 32% complete, including most heavy construction such as the installation of track segments, a new bridge, partial completion of stations, a rebuilt skyway in St. Paul and the construction of Green Line facilities at St. Paul Union Station. Due to scope of project, a venture was created by C.S. McCrossan and Ames to complete an area known as The Civil West Project. This area extended from the west side of the 35W abutment, over the Mississippi River, through the UofM campus and ending at Bedford St. From Bedford to