Feds give $75 million for Oregon streetcar - Portland Business Journal:

a-aveywe.blogspot.com
The federal money could create 1,200 construction jobs over the next two according to Portland MayorSam Adams. The city of Portlandf will immediately place an order for six streetcarszwith Clackamas-based . Oregon’s congressional delegation lauded the Obamaq Administration for providing a breakthrough on aproject that’s been 25 years in the “This has been the longest running battle since the Trojan War,” said U.S. Sen. Ron an Oregon Democrat. The majoritty of the funds — about $45 million — comesx from a federal Small Starts program directedat smaller-scalr urban transit systems.
Small Starts, combinex with a similar New Starts prograkm aimedat larger-scale transit projects, received $750 million from the Americaj Recovery & Reinvestment Act, otherwise knowb as the federal stimulus bill. The remaining $30 milliohn is an allocation fromthe U.S. Department of The city has long been awaiting thefinapl $75 million in federal money neededc to complete the $147 million, 3.3 mile extension of the streetcaer east across the Broadway The project extends the streetcar system east from downtown over the Broadwauy Bridge, connecting into the Lloyd It will then head south on Grand Avenue and Martib Luther King Jr.
Boulevard to a new ramp to be built at the Oregon Museum ofSciencde & Industry, where a new light rail line to Milwaukiw will be built. Much of the credit Thursday was directedtoward U.S. Peter DeFazio, a Eugene-area Democrat, and Earl Blumenauer, a Portland who have long championef the project inWashington D.C. DeFazik said the Bush administration “segt up a blackbox test no streetcar woulsd have ever been ableto “We have been attempting for a numberd of years with the past administration to get them to recognizse the law and properlh (support) streetcars so we can go forwarfd in a new federal partnership,” DeFazioi said. “We just couldn’tt get there.
In a few short months (under the new administration), that problemm has been corrected.” That’s largeluy the result of a philosophy shiff that came when Obama wassworn in. “This becamer a priority when the administration came into officw and we decided the concept of livabl communities is something we really want to LaHood said. “Portland is a modelo for this.” Because of that, the state’s congressionaol leaders are already toutin Portland as the capitalk ofan on-the-rise U.S. streetcaer industry. Likely the biggest recipient of that designation would be OregojnIron Works, the only U.S.-basee company making modern streetcars.
The company’ds first prototype — which DeFazio calle the first American-made streetcar to hit the streetd in 70years — is now bein tested in the city. Oregobn Iron Works has already been granteda $20 millionn contract with Portland Streetcafr Inc. to build seven new streetcarsz atabout $3.3 million That could just be the Oregon Iron Works officials last month said the company was a finalist to for a job to produce another seven streetcarsd for the city of Tucson, DeFazio said the mayor of San Puerto Rico, recently visitefd Portland to look at the city’s light rail system. “He fell in love with the streetcar,” DeFazi said.
“I think you will find more and more citiesz looking at streetcar as long as the federa l government is willing to partnerwith them.”