The Federal Transit Administration will provide $116 million to extend TRAX light-rail transit service from downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, into the suburb of Draper. The 3.8-mile extension is the final project in a bold seven-year, 70-mile effort to significantly expand transit options for residents and commuters in the Salt Lake City area, one of the nation’s fastest growing cities.
Illinois will receive a total of $44,288,000 in TIGER grant funding for three Illinois projects in the Chicagoland area and Alton. The grants represent approximately eight percent of total funding available through the program.
The Federal Railroad Administration gave $7 million to Georgia and Washington D.C. to continue work on the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor linking Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., to Washington, D.C.
The future of mass transit in the Charlotte region reached another milestone this month. The Charlotte Area Transit System received its Record of Decision from the Federal Transit Administration for the LYNX Blue Line Extension light rail project.
A joint venture between AECOM Technology Corporation, its Tishman Construction arm, and STV, was awarded a $19 million contract by the Moynihan Station Development Corporation in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Former Richardson, Texas, Mayor Gary Slagel was appointed by Richardson, Addison, Highland Park and University Park to represent them on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board of directors.
Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority will advance major projects to rebuild sections of the Red and Orange lines December 2 to December 4.
The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $150 million to the Michigan Department of Transportation for a high-speed rail project that will increase the safety and reliability of Amtrak’s Wolverine and Blue Water services between Detroit and Chicago and put more than 800 Americans back to work this spring.
The Federal Railroad Administration awarded a $928.6 million grant to the California High-Speed Rail Authority for initial construction of California high-speed rail. Construction will begin next year in Fresno, Calif., creating tens of thousands of jobs in California.
Travelers using Seattle’s historic King Street Station, grand and ornate when it opened in 1906, will be transported back to that era when seismic and utility upgrades and historic restoration work are complete in two years.
South Florida Regional Transportation Authority will receive $5.7 million through the Federal Transit Administration’s TIGGER III Grant Program. The funds will be used to construct Tri-Rail’s first green, LEED certified, sustainable station at Pompano Beach. The SFRTA project was one of 46 nationwide selected to receive grants.
The FTA reviewed 266 project applications representing more than $1 billion in funding requests from transit providers across the country. The awards to the projects selected totaled over $100 million.
“We are grateful to the FTA for providing the funds to go forward with this very important project. It is a win-win for South Florida. A win for the environment and a win for the economy due to the construction jobs it will create,” said SFRTA Chair, Commissioner Kristin Jacobs.
The rebuilt Pompano Beach Station will generate more than 100 percent of the station’s energy demand through solar panels. The project will send the excess energy to the power grid and store daytime energy for nighttime lighting of the station, parking area, and other parts of the facility.
Implementation of this demonstration project will result in a significant reduction in energy consumption, which is consistent with the FTA’s livability and environmental sustainability goals to support green building. Tri-Rail’s Pompano Beach Station will be the first transit station in the State of Florida to be 100 percent supported by solar energy and will become SFRTA’s green station prototype for future improvements at all Tri-Rail stations.
Portland-area TriMet’s ridership during the month of October showed strong upward trends and reached new records. For the month, there were 8.8 million trips taken on buses, MAX and WES Commuter Rail, up more than two percent compared to October 2010.
The Bureau of Land Management released the Record of Decision for the DesertXpress Passenger Rail Project in San Bernardino County, Calif. and Clark County, Nev.
The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $21 million to the California Department of Transportation for engineering to begin on three projects to improve Southern California’s Pacific Surfliner Corridor.
Seattle’s Sound Transit Board received the Federal Transit Administration’s Record of Decision for the East Link light rail project and voted unanimously to launch work on the final design for the route between Seattle, Mercer Island, Bellevue and Redmond.
The Federal Transit Administration awarded $5.6 million to the Texas Department of Transportation for planning and environmental work to advance the development of the Oklahoma City-South Texas Corridor. Future intercity passenger rail service will connect Oklahoma City, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and South Texas, some of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the nation.
The I-210 Gold Line Bridge, which will one day serve as the “Gateway to the San Gabriel Valley,” moved closer to completion with the approval of its final design by Caltrans and the The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority. The bridge is the first component of the 11.5-mile Gold Line Foothill Extension light-rail project from Pasadena to Azusa, Calif., to advance from the design phase to the construction phase.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution ratifying a Memorandum of Agreement that will ensure the continuation of the Dulles Rail extension to Loudoun County. The Memorandum of Agreement is a multi-party agreement that outlines the fiscal responsibilities of federal, state and local entities in the estimated $2.8 billion phase 2 of the rail project.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the overwhelming demand for TIGER grants has once again far surpassed the available funding.
The Chicago Transit Board approved a $1.24 billion budget for 2012 that holds the line on fares and maintains current service levels, relying on deep management cuts and work rule changes from labor unions. The proposed budget is $66.2 million, or 5.1 percent, less than the 2011 budget.