Money problems have delayed today's (Weds) expected announcement from the Metropolitan Council that it has awarded a major contract for light rail construction. Officials expect to make the announcement next week, but in the meantime planners are recommending the Metropolitan Airports Commission increase it's contribution to the project as a way to help cover a higher-than-expected bid for the light line tunnel at the airport. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports. {Last week project managers said they were ready to recommend that the Metropolitan Council award the three hundred million Hiawatha Avenue light rail line construction contract to California-based Granite Construction Company and Minnesota-based C. S. McCrossan Company. But Tuesday, Metropolitan Council officials said a final vote on the award is delayed so planners can try find a way to cover a twenty five million dollar gap that appeared at the end of August. That's when officials learned the low bid for building the mile and half long light rail tunnel under the Twin Cities airport is one hundred ten million dollars compared to the eighty five million alloted for the project. The Metropolitan Airports Commission is managing tunnel construction. The MAC's Nigel Finney says the airport commission may need to contribute more to the project. audio . . . .we've been talking previously about a contribution of seventy million dollars. We'll be recommending at least as a staff to the commission they increase that level of participation to help offset the costs. (what might be increase?) I'd say on the order of sixteen to eighteen million dollars.