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The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has told the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority that it can proceed with preliminary engineering phase for a proposed subway extension to Westwood and a regional connector underground light-rail line that will connect with other lines.

"Hopefully, this is a prelude for the FTA partnering with Metro to help pay for construction of these two major transit projects that will attract tens of thousands of new riders," said Metro Board Chairman Don Knabe in a prepared statement. "Historically, FTA has funded just one Los Angeles County rail project at a time, so this positive action is unprecedented."

The FTA announcement comes on the heels of a $546 million federal loan commitment for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor light-rail project announced in fall 2010, Knabe added.

The federal actions bode well for accelerating a dozen local transit projects that voters approved two years ago when they passed the Measure R transit sales tax two years ago, he said.