US Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a letter announcing its support for Orange County’s first tram project. According to this process, the project officially enters in the engineering phase.
The letter signals the federal government’s continued support of the project and that the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) remains on track meeting the extensive requirements of the FTA’s New Starts program.
The engineering phase is the final stage before OCTA seeks a full funding grant agreement from the FTA, which could fund up to half of the USD 298 million OC Streetcar that will run through the heart of the county, serving Santa Ana and Garden Grove.
Construction on the OC Streetcar is set to begin in 2018 with the start of testing and operations planned for 2020.
Last year, the project entered into FTA’s New Starts program, and it got a major boost when USD 125 million for the OC Streetcar was included in the President’s 2017 fiscal budget.
Other funding is coming from the state, which has awarded the project USD 25.5 million in cap-and-trade funds, and from local sources, including Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements.
The OC Streetcar will operate on a 6.5 km route from the busy Santa Ana train station, up Santa Ana Boulevard and Fourth Street and along the Pacific Electric right-of-way to Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove.
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