METRO CLEARS ANOTHER FTA HURDLE, HEADS TOWARD FINISH LINE

METRO is approaching the finish line in its mission to get a financial commitment from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the construction of two light-rail expansion lines.

The FTA has given METRO the go-ahead to enter into Final Design on the city’s North and Southeast light-rail lines. 

This means the agency has permission to start pre-construction activities such as relocating utilities, continue acquiring right-of-way property and finalize construction plans.

In its letters to the agency, the FTA states METRO has adequately defined the North and Southeast Corridor’s project scope, cost estimate, schedule and potential risk areas. It also notes that METRO has demonstrated the technical and financial capacity to construct and implement the projects and has sufficient technical and management resources to enter into final design work.

For METRO – this is another milestone in what’s been a long journey.

“We’re on the 90-yard line heading into the end zone,” said John Haley, vice president of infrastructure and service development at METRO. “This is the penultimate step to receiving a Full Funding Grant Agreement. We’re on the right track.”

Obtaining a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) is the ultimate prize. It’s the official agreement that details exactly how much of the projects the federal government will fund.

“We feel confident that we’ll get that,” added Haley. “We’ve had nothing but support from the FTA, so we expect a good outcome.”

METRO and the FTA have finalized items pertaining to METRO’s Title VI program. The two agencies continue to work together on the implementation of a detailed operational analysis of rail-car headways (the time between trains) when the project is completed.

In July, METRO issued a $121 million work order for the North and Southeast lines, including initial utility relocation work. The work order is part of a larger contract that calls for the initial spending of $632 million on the North, Southeast and East End light-rail lines.

Small and local businesses are expected to receive $300 million to $385 million in eligible contract work by the time four lines, including Uptown, are completed.

The overall project is expected to generate 60,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The photos on the left show construction of the East End line.