Phoenix LRT route gets OK from local government

Phoenix Arizona’s Valley Metro received regional approval from the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) on the route and transit mode for the Phoenix West extension. Light rail will be extended 11 miles from downtown Phoenix, through the State Capitol area, to approximately 79th Avenue and the I-10 West freeway. This is Valley Metro’s first freeway corridor project, providing the growing West Valley with a higher-capacity and more efficient transit option by 2023.

TriMet receives delivery of girders for LRT project, hits ridership record

TriMet in Portland, Ore., received a delivery of 64 steel girders for the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project. The girders will support the Project’s Harbor Structure decking that will carry the light rail over and under several roadways in South Waterfront.

Metrolinx to build new station in Acton for GO trains

Metrolinx in Toronto, ON, Canada, is moving forward on its plans for a new Acton GO Station.

RTD Board approves I-225 LRT proposal

The Denver, Colo., Regional Transportation District Board of Directors formally approved a proposal by Kiewit Infrastructure Co. to complete the I-225 Light Rail Line to Peoria by November 2015. The line would open in mid-2016 after about six months of testing. With a vote of 14-0 and one member absent, the RTD Board’s decision paves the way for the agency to complete another FasTracks rail line. On July 3, RTD staff recommended the proposal to the board after finding that it offered the best value with a financially sound solution that allows RTD to take advantage of the current market. The Kiewit team includes Mass. Electric Construction Co., AECOM and RBC Capital Markets.

L.B. Foster receives company’s largest order ever for rail products

L.B. Foster Company has been awarded the company’s largest rail products contract, valued at approximately $60 million, by contractor Kiewit/Kobayashi, a Joint Venture, for the county-wide construction of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) passenger transit system. L.B. Foster rail, concrete ties, direct fixation fasteners, third rail with accessories and special trackwork will be installed throughout the Honolulu Rail Transit Project’s new elevated railway system and maintenance yard.

Evergreen Line contract awarded

A $2-million Trans Link Evergreen Line contract for work to prepare for the relocation of railway tracks in Coquitlam and Port Moody, B.C., Canada, has been awarded to BEL Contracting.

Building demolition begins for future Berryessa BART Station

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority contractor Skanska Shimmick Herzog (SSH), a Joint Venture, will perform demolition of industrial buildings to prepare for construction of the future Berryessa Bay Area Rapid Transit Station campus July 19 through the end of August.

Sound Transit’s Link light rail hits three-year mark

Seattle’s Sound Transit Link light rail turns three years old, amid continued steady ridership growth since opening day. Link has carried an estimated 21.6 million riders since it opened July 18, 2009.

CTA preps for track renewal project with job fair, land lease

The Chicago Transit Authority Board has approved a temporary lease for property that will be used as a staging area for construction related to the Red Line South Track Renewal Project.

CTA plans $205 million maintenance and repair facility modernization

The Chicago Transit Authority unveiled a $205 million initiative that will rehabilitate and modernize the agency’s bus and rail maintenance facilities, which will benefit commuters and the local economy with the creation of more than new 500 jobs.

Dulles Rail aerial guideway complete

The Bechtel Corporation-led team building Phase 1 of the Dulles Corridor extension project completed construction of the aerial guideway that will carry Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority trains and passengers over major highways and through

Ottawa light rail receives Canadian government environmental OK

The City of Ottawa has received Federal Environmental Assessment approval for the Ottawa Light Rail Transit (OLRT) project from the Canadian government.

MAP-21 grants FTA new authority for transit safety

U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff joined Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski and top safety and transit officials to celebrate a legislative victory that will ensure that transit passengers in the United States who board a light rail, commuter rail, heavy rail or transit bus will travel on a system governed by robust federal safety oversight for the first time.

NJ Transit adopts operating, capital budgets for FY13

NJ Transit Board of Directors approved a Fiscal Year 2013 (FY 2013) operating budget and capital program that supports safe, reliable and cost-effective service for the nearly 250 million customer trips provided by the state’s rail, bus and light-rail network each year.

CTA to open newly rehabbed Granville Red Line Station Friday night

A cleaner, brighter and more welcoming Granville Red Line station will reopen Friday, July 13, after a six-week temporary closure as part of the $86 million Red Line North Interim Improvement project.

Illinois authorizes $800 million in rail and transit improvements

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a law to begin the next phase of the Illinois Jobs Now! capital program, which is designed to create jobs, strengthen the transportation system and support economic growth across Illinois.

SFMTA resumes Muni track switch replacement

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency in California has continued track improvement work on the Muni Metro system. From July 13 to July 16, SFMTA will install new track switches on the L Taraval Line between 22nd and 23rd avenues and at 35th Avenue.

Hennepin County, Minn., breaks ground on the Interchange project

Hennepin County, Minn., broke ground on its multi-million dollar Interchange project.

CATS Blue Line Extension to enter final design with FTA approval

The Charlotte Area Transit System in North Carolina has received approval from the Federal Transit Administration to enter Final Design for the 9.3-mile LYNX Blue Line Extension (BLE) light-rail project. This allows the project to be developed from the 65 percent to the 100 percent design level and complete preparation of final construction plans, right-of-way acquisition, construction cost estimates, bid documents and utility relocation.

NYCT plans rail bridge and trackwork

New York City Transit will advance rehabilitation of a bridge and perform another round of FASTRACK improvements in the coming weeks.