FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, November 17, 2000
Contact: Gail Taylor
Tel.: (202) 366-4043
FTA 25-00
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Announces Full Funding Grant Agreement With
Denver’s Regional Transportation District
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater today announced a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) with Denver’s Regional Transit District (RTD) for the proposed Southeast Corridor Light Rail project.
"Investment in critical mass transit projects is key to rebuilding our cities, creating livable communities and stimulating economic development," said Secretary Slater. "For hard working Americans, the payoff is a better quality of life."
Acting Federal Transit Administrator Nuria Fernandez joined U.S. Senator Wayne Allard in Denver, CO to sign the agreement. "The FFGA signed today demonstrates the Clinton-Gore administration’s commitment to public transportation, and is an example of what can be accomplished when interested groups and government at all levels work together to serve the needs of our local communities," said Fernandez.
The Southeast Corridor Light Rail project is a 19-mile light rail transit (LRT) system extending from the existing LRT station at I-25 and Broadway in Denver along I-15 to Lincoln Avenue and I-25 in Douglas County, with a LRT spur line along I-225 to Parker Road in Arapahoe County. The proposed Southeast Corridor will connect to RTD’s Southwest Corridor light rail line and the Denver Technological Center, which is part of the Southeast Business District. This corridor connects to downtown Denver, which contains a dense concentration of over 102,000 jobs. The project is expected to attract 34,000 daily passengers when it opens in 2008.
The total cost of the Southeast Corridor project is estimated at $879.3 million, of which $525 million in new starts funds will be provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration.
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