Two town meetings will be held Feb. 17 in St. Paul, following a judge's ruling that planning for the coming light rail line between Minneapolis and St. Paul hasn't adequately addressed how local businesses will get by during construction.

Late last month, a federal judge ruled the light rail planners hadn't done enough to determine the effect on local businesses while the 11-mile line is being built. The judge refused to stop the project but ordered further study on how merchants can cope with the potential loss of customers during the building process.

These meetings come in response to that ruling and are part of the effort by the Federal Transit Administration and the Metropolitan Council to conduct "a supplemental environmental assessment for the Central Corridor LRT Project ... to address the potential loss of revenue by local businesses during construction."

Teh town hall meetings will be in the Model Cities Brownstone conference room, 849 W. University Ave., St. Paul.

One runs from 8 to 10 a.m.; the other, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Officials say they plan "to consider the views of the general public and local merchants and to gather data."

The light rail line will connect downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis via the University of Minnesota and the state Capitol. Most of the track will run along University Avenue.