The Orange County (OC) tram project, planned to travel through the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove, has advanced significantly in recent weeks. Plans for the tram project have been approved by city councils in both cities and received environmental clearances from the Federal Transit Administration.
The OC tram will be partly funded by the county’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements. The project was recently accepted into the project development phase of the New Starts federal grant program, making it a candidate for future funding.
The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has taken over as the lead agency to design, build and operate the tram system, which will provide easy connections for people traveling from trains and buses to employment, retail and recreational areas in the heart of Orange County.
The tram system will be 4 miles (6.4 km) long and will have 12 stations. It’s expected that by 2035, the streetcar would carry more than 6,000 riders a day. Initial estimates put the cost of the project at $250 million (222.7 million euros) and it will be jointly funded with OCTA pursuing local, state and federal dollars.
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