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Sound Transit must still sign a formal grant agreement with the Federal Transit Administration before the agency can access the money, or the $ 100 million that the FTA reserved for Lynnwood last year.
The Federal Transit Administration has allocated $ 100 million for the Sound Transit project to build a light rail transit for Lynnwood, the second consecutive year the federal government has earmarked funds for the project.
The money – $ 100 million newly awarded plus $ 100 million last year – is not in the Sound Transit pocket yet. The announcement means that the FTA has set aside funds for the Lynnwood Line, but that Sound Transit can not use it until it has a formal grant agreement with the federal government. But this agreement could also happen soon.
Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff said on Friday that he was "more optimistic than I have been for a year" that the agency will finalize its agreement with the ALE D & # 39; Here the end of 2018. the last steps necessary to the signing of a full grant agreement.
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These include routine negotiations on contract language and review periods for the Office of the Secretary of Transport and the Office of Management and Budget, Rogoff said.
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In total, Sound Transit is requesting nearly $ 1.2 billion in federal funding for its Northgate Lynnwood line, scheduled to open in mid-2024, at a cost of $ 2.8 billion to $ 3.2 billion. of dollars.
Project costs have risen by at least $ 300 million, while real estate and construction deals in the Seattle area have increased more and more. The same pressures caused the estimated costs of the Sound Transit LRT line between Angle Lake and Federal Way to increase by $ 460 million to approximately $ 2.5 billion. This project also seeks federal funding, a decision that could be made next year.
Rogoff said he sees the new allocation of FTAs as a turning point in the Trump administration's approach to transit financing.
For a while, the FTA money has been more threatened, as the Trump administration has twice proposed to abolish federal aid for the full transit of megaprojects, on the grounds that transit is a local affair. But both Houses of Congress voted in favor of preserving the FTA grants, which allowed Lynnwood to continue its activities.
"The administration understood it well, they wrote it in writing, they did not execute new financing agreements and they thoroughly examined the whole program. "Rogoff said in an interview. "It seems now that this review is over."
He added that the Trump administration favors communities that largely fund projects with local funds and that Sound Transit's local funding level – 84% of all projects – is higher than most.
"It has an appeal for them," said Rogoff.
US Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., Urged the Trump administration to follow up on congressionally authorized grants.
"While there is still work to do, it's an important step in the right direction," Murray said Friday in a prepared statement.
This announcement reinforces the likelihood that Sound Transit will play and begin signing construction agreements before reaching a full grant agreement with ALE.
Rogoff mentioned this possibility earlier this year, thinking that delays and inflation are riskier than starting before the federal money.
He said Friday that no decision had yet been made, but he discussed with Williams about a "no-harm letter" from the FTA. This would allow Sound Transit to be reimbursed for the money spent on the project before it gets a funding agreement.
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