The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) this week announced a $790 million Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) with the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) for the Federal Way Link Extension Project in King County, Washington.
The grant is being provided through FTA's Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program. Sound Transit has also been approved for up to $629.5 million in U.S. DOT credit assistance through the Build America Bureau under the TIFIA loan program.
The project is a 7.8-mile extension of the Link light-rail system, from the existing Angle Lake station through the cities of SeaTac, Des Moines, Kent, and Federal Way in southern King County, Washington. The project will serve a dense suburban corridor where the existing roadway network is constrained and travel options are limited to two congested roadways.
"Commuters in Seattle can now look forward to a one-seat ride between King County, Sea-Tac Airport, downtown Seattle, and the University of Washington," FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams said in a statement. "This extension will improve access to jobs, healthcare, educational opportunities, and other destinations in the Puget Sound region."
FTA’s CIG Program provides funding for major transit projects nationwide. Projects accepted into the program must go through a multi-year, multi-step process according to requirements in law to be eligible for consideration to receive program funds.
Since January 2017, FTA has advanced funding for 25 new CIG projects throughout the nation totaling approximately $7.5 billion in funding commitments. With today’s FFGA signing, the agency has executed 19 CIG funding agreements totaling more than $4.42 billion in CIG funding.
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SOURCE: Federal Transit Administration
