Orange County authority to launch streetcar construction

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) will hold a groundbreaking ceremony today for the OC Streetcar at a regional transportation center in Santa Ana, California.

Federal, state and local officials are invited to attend the event, including Acting Federal Transit Administrator K. Jane Williams, who is expected make a major funding announcement about the $408 million streetcar system.

Projected to begin serving passengers in late 2021, the OC Streetcar will run along a 4.1-mile route from the Santa Ana transportation center to a new station in Garden Grove.

The system will feature 10 stations and eight vehicles, and is expected to serve more than 7,000 riders each day. The OC Streetcar will connect riders to Amtrak and Metrolink lines, and various bus routes.

In September, OCTA’s board awarded a $220.5 million contract to Walsh Construction Co. to build the system.

To learn about the OC Streetcar and other new U.S. streetcar systems, read this feature in Progressive Railroading's September issue.