February 11, 2016

Feds budget $600M for NW projects

Five transportation projects in Washington and two in Oregon are in line to get more than $600 million in federal funding.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx made the announcement on Wednesday that the projects would be part of President Obama's fiscal year 2017 budget. There are 31 projects in 18 states that have been recommended to share $3.5 billion in federal funding through the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Grant Program.

Congress must approve the budget.

Here are the Washington projects:

Lynnwood Link

$125 million funding

This $1.5 billion Sound Transit project will expand light rail 8.5 miles from Northgate to Lynnwood. It includes four stations, 34 vehicles, and a vehicle operations, maintenance and storage facility. Officials expect to open the route in 2023.

Tacoma Link

$75 million

Sound Transit wants to extend Tacoma Link light rail line from Theater District Station to the Stadium and Hilltop districts. The $166 million project includes 2.4 miles of track, six stations, transit signals and five new vehicles. It will open in late 2021.

Seattle Streetcar connector

$75 million

This $134.9 million project will connect the existing South Lake Union and the recently opened First Hill streetcar lines. It will add 1.3 miles of track, four stations, transit signals and 10 cars; and will expand the maintenance facility and modify two existing stations. Officials want it open by November 2018.

Swift II bus rapid transit

$43.2 million

Community Transit plans to extend its bus rapid transit service from a new transit center in Everett to the Canyon Park park-and-ride in the Bothell area. The project includes 3.6 miles of bus-only lanes, transit signals, the new transit center, intersection and sidewalk improvements, and 13 new buses. The line will open in summer 2018.

Spokane Central City Line

Spokane Transit Authority wants to run electric trolley buses on the 5.8-mile Central City Line corridor that runs east from the Browne's Addition residential area to Spokane Community College. STA hasn't determined the amount of federal funding it will seek for the $72 million project that is expected to open in September 2019.

Here are the Oregon projects:

Portland-Milwaukie light rail

$125 million

TriMet last September opened the 7.3-mile Portland-Milwaukie Orange Line from the downtown transit mall to southeast Portland, the city of Milwaukie and other parts of Clackamas County. The $1.49 billion project included a multimodal bridge over the Willamette River, a 320-lot park-and-ride lot, 355-stall garage, expanded maintenance facility, bike and pedestrian improvements, and 18 new light rail cars. The federal government is funding $745.2 million of the project and is making annual payments.

Powell-Division transit and development

$75 million

TriMet is planning bus rapid transit in the 14-mile Powell-Division Transit and Development corridor that runs from Portland's central business district to Mount Hood Community College in Gresham. Project costs are still being finalized, but TriMet could seek up to $75 million in federal funding. The project would include a new bus maintenance facility, bus stations, transit signals, a real-time bus arrival information system and new buses. It could open in the third quarter of 2020.