Federal stimulus money distributed for public transit

Following the passage of the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Federal Transit Administration has begun to distribute some of the funds to specific project.  See below for a list of summaries and FTA press releases of projects already announced:

• $100 million for Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction grant program — Projects will compete for a portion of the funds on the basis of how much their proposed capital investment is expected to reduce either energy consumption or greenhouse gases, or both.  In addition to the anticipated reduction in energy or greenhouse gasses, the projects will be rated on their return on investment, readiness to implement, the capacity of the applicant, the degree of innovation, and their national applicability.
• $36 million for Central Phoenix/East Valley light rail — The ARRA funds will help to complete the rail line and allow Valley Metro to begin work on the extension, which is expected to create 10,000 jobs over the life of the project.  Funds will be used for signal work, communications, an operations control center, and further testing of two light rail cars to be put into service. The arrival of federal funds supplements local resources, which have declined during the economic downturn, and allows for a quicker investment in the extension.
  In 2005, the Federal Transit Administration signed a “full funding grant agreement” to provide $587 million, or 42 percent, of the $1.4 billion, 19.6-mile project, to be paid out over six years.
• $17 million for FTA’s Tribal Transit Program —  The ARRA tribal transit funds will provide grants to Indian tribes for capital expenditures including transit equipment and facilities.  Participants under this program include federally recognized Indian Tribes or Alaska Native villages, groups, or communities as identified by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior.  Tribes will have 60 days to submit project proposals.

For more information on “what’s new” at the FTA, click here.