USDOT announces $891 million in funding for 12 rail, bus transit projects

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) late last week announced $891 million in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding to 12 rail and bus rapid transit infrastructure projects.

The funding allocations will be used to advance the readiness of projects through Full Funding Grant Agreements (FFGA). The funding is distributed through the FTA's Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program.

FTA is allocating $27 million in appropriated fiscal-year 2018 CIG funding, $526 million in appropriated FY2019 CIG funding and $337 million in appropriated FY2020 CIG funding to 12 projects.

The projects must meet additional requirements before a grant can be awarded, FTA officials said in a press release.

"Supporting rail and bus rapid transit projects across the nation will help communities improve transit service as they address the impacts of COVID-19 and recover from this public health emergency," said FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams.

CIG New Starts rail projects receiving allocations include:

• Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 2.6-mile extension of the Westside Purple Line Section 3. The FTA allocated $200 million in FY2018 and FY2019 funds, and awarded a FFGA in March. The FTA is allocating an additional $100 million FY2020 funds;
• Valley Metro's South Central Light-Rail Extension/Downtown Hub, a 5.5-mile extension of the light-rail system from downtown Phoenix to the South Mountain Village Core. The extension includes nine stations. FTA has allocated $100 million in FY2019 funds and is allocating an additional $100 million in FY2020 funds to the project;
• West Lake Corridor commuter-rail project, a 7.8-mile southern extension of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District's existing South Shore Line commuter-rail service between Dyer and Hammond, Indiana. It includes four new stations. The FTA is allocating $100 million in FY2020 funds to the project.

CIG Small Starts projects receiving allocations include a 7.8-mile extension of Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon's MAX Red Line from the Beaverton Transit Center to downtown Hillsboro, Oregon. The project also will increase the reliability of the MAX light-rail system between Portland International Airport and Beaverton Transit Center. The FTA is allocating $99.99 million in FY2019 CIG funds to the project, to complete the CIG funding request.