Special Report The bid competition was framed with the best of intentions. While overseeing the $1.9-billion light-rail line from Minneapolis to its suburbs, the Metropolitan Council, the regional transportation agency for the Twin Cities area, wanted to level the playing field and pre-empt even a suggestion of a conflict of interest when it spelled out in bid documents a now-infamous clause. It barred all subcontractors that had done work on the project’s design and engineering from taking part in bids by large joint-venture teams for the construction phase of the Southwest Light Rail Line, extending 14.5 miles from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, Minn. Such measures are common in public works. The council also stated that the clause would assure the project stayed in line with state and federal conflict-of-interest practices.