A Metro transit construction crew spent Sunday fixing a section of light rail tracks that were recently laid as a part of the controversial Southwest Light Rail project, also known as the Green Line Extension, after 5 INVESTIGATES revealed the tracks were built too close to an existing freight rail.

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Marion Collins, who lives right next to the new light rail tracks at the crossing on West 21st Street, began raising concerns with Metro Transit a couple of years before the new tracks were laid.

“I think it’s important with these kind of trains going through here, next to ethanol trains, that they are really living up to what they told us they would to make it as safe as possible,” she said.

“And I said, ‘Hey, how far apart are these tracks gonna be? Because this is dangerous.'”

Officials ultimately told Collins in an email she shared with 5 INVESTIGATES that the centerlines of the freight track and the closest light rail track “will be 25 feet apart.”

Metro Transit also noted in the email that 25 feet is the closest the tracks could be before extra safeguards, like a “protection barrier,” are needed.

Then, when the tracks were laid earlier this year, Collins took her own tape measure to it and said she encouraged several other neighbors to do the same.

“Everybody’s coming up with 24 feet,” she told 5 INVESTIGATES in March.

Retired engineer Tim McManus lives right across the street from Collins.

“I thought, ‘Well, no, that can’t be true,” McManus laughed. “They have to be able to measure how far the tracks are. “

“But we did eventually go out there and measure it on the recommendation of Marion and in fact, they are a little short of 25 feet. So to meet the guidelines, they have to move the tracks.”

That work to shift the tracks took up much of Sunday. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Council confirmed crews wrapped up before 5 p.m., adding that final measurements show that the light rail and freight tracks were moved to be 25 feet and a quarter-inch apart at the closest point.

Collins said she’ll be measuring the shift for herself.

“I am highly skeptical that this is going to be proper, and it will still be too close,” she said Sunday afternoon.

That particular skepticism stemmed from a statement made by Green Line Extension project director Jim Alexander in March.

After 5 INVESTIGATES started asking questions, Alexander acknowledged the tracks were initially laid too close, but there was a discrepancy over how much they needed to be shifted.

While Collins and some neighbors measured the tracks as a foot too close, Alexander said Metro Transit’s measurement was “about seven inches short of 25 feet.”

McManus couldn’t recall his exact findings, saying his measurements put the tracks at more than six but less than 12 inches too close.

“And who knows, along the 14-mile route that exists, how many places it falls short,” he noted.

Collins made a formal data request to the Metropolitan Council, asking Metro Transit to show its work, but as of this report, the measurement discrepancy remains unexplained.

“Yeah, I’ll be checking,” Collins said, referring to an official statement assuring the Sunday construction “[would] ensure there is at least 25 feet of clearance between the centerline of freight and the centerline of the closest (westbound) LRT track.”

Asked if he plans to bring the measuring tape back out as well, McManus replied, “Might as well.”

McManus said he takes less issue with the actual distance of the tracks and more with “the fact that they’re not adhering to the rules.”

“You know, what [other] rules might there be that are not being adhered to?” he continued.

“They keep saying, ‘We’re making a Safe Line,'” Collins said. “But, they have had mistake, after mistake, after mistake, and I feel like if we let them get away with inches, they’re gonna get away with a mile.”

It’s unclear as of this report how much the extra day of work added to the cost of the project, which is already more than $1 billion over budget.

Read the full statement attributed to the Metropolitan Council below:

“The safety of those living along the corridor is always the top priority when developing any transit project.  While the track between South Upton and Thomas Avenues on West 21st Street in Minneapolis had not been fully completed and turned over to the Met Council, we understand the concerns of those living in the area and worked quickly to make the adjustment to match the original design.

The work to shift the freight track will ensure there is at least 25 feet of clearance between the centerline of freight and the centerline of the closest (westbound) LRT track.“