Sacramento transit agency opens Blue Line light-rail extension

The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) yesterday marked the grand opening of its new 4.3-mile Blue Line to Cosumnes River College (CRC) light-rail extension.

The new line opened earlier than a previously planned date in September to coincide with the start of classes at the CRC and the Los Rios Community College District campuses, SacRT officials said in a press release.

The extension runs south from an existing terminus at Meadowview Road in Sacramento, Calif., to the CRC, and includes four new stations. The Blue Line to CRC route also features more than 2,700 park-and-ride spaces, two pedestrian bridges and a bus/light-rail transit center at the CRC.

The new line will provide an alternative to congestion on the California State Route 99 highway, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) officials said in a separate statement.

"With continued population growth expected in the coming decades, Sacramento’s expanded light rail system will bring much-needed world class transit options to this growing region," said FTA Acting Administrator Therese McMillan, who was present at the line's opening.

The FTA provided $135 million toward the $270 million project through the Capital Investment Grant Program, as well as an additional $7.1 million in other U.S. Department of Transportation funds.

State and local funding covered the remaining costs of the project, FTA officials said.