FTA awards CIG grants to transit-rail projects

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) yesterday announced it has allocated $544.3 million in federal funding to seven transit infrastructure projects, including rail, through the FTA's Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program.

The CIG program provides funding for major transit infrastructure capital investments nationwide that help improve transit access.

Two projects receiving an allocation have an existing Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA), and five projects are nearing being ready to receive a construction grant agreement under the CIG program. 

Following are the rail-related projects selected to receive funds:

• $250.7 million for Bay Area Rapid Transit District’s (BART) Transbay Corridor Core Capacity project in San Francisco, which would improve capacity on the BART heavy-rail system. The project received a FFGA in September.
• $100 million for the Metro Transit’s Southwest Light Rail Project in Minneapolis, to extend the METRO Green Line from Target Field Station in downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie in Hennepin County. The project received a FFGA in September.
• $49.4 million for Valley Metro’s Northwest Extension Phase II in Phoenix, which will extend light-rail 1.5 miles from Northwest Phoenix to the Metrocenter Mall. The project is in the engineering phase of the CIG program.
• $49.4 million for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District’s South Shore commuter-rail line’s project to construct 26.6 miles of new second track in northern Indiana between Gary and Michigan City. The project is in the engineering phase of the CIG program.
• $49.2 million for the Kansas City Streetcar’s Main Street Extension project, which will extend the Downtown Streetcar 3.5 miles from Union Station to the University of Missouri–Kansas City. The project is in the engineering phase of the CIG program.
• $10.6 million for the Utah Transit Authority’s Ogden/Weber State University Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project, which will include construction of a 5.3-mile BRT line that will connect the Ogden FrontRunner commuter-rail station with Weber State University and McKay-Dee Hospital.