OK: City Awarded $13.6 Million Grant for Downtown Transit Hub

Oklahoma City was selected to receive a $13.6 million federal transportation grant to help transform downtown Oklahoma City’s Santa Fe Station into an intermodal transit hub.

The 79-year old station is home to Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Transportation Infrastructure Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant will help renovate the historic depot into the future hub for the MAPS 3 Modern Streetcar and will one day serve as a regional transportation center.

“This is a huge win for the citizens of Oklahoma City, whose support of MAPS 3 led to this critical investment in public transit,” Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said. “This will allow us to continue to enhance our public transportation options, including a better bus system and the streetcar that citizens approved as part of MAPS 3.”

“We began this process in 2005 with the creation of the Fixed Guideway Study, which laid out a blueprint for a 21st Century Transit System that includes buses, bus rapid transit and rail-based transportation.”

Cornett served as co-chair of both the 2005 Fixed Guideway Study and the 2009 Alternative Analysis Study. He is also the current national chair of the Amtrak Mayor’s Advisory Council.

The grant will be used to make the following improvements:
• Restoration and renovations of Santa Fe Station’s facilities.
• Renovation of the space currently being utilized by Amtrak.
• Provide additional enhancements and connectivity to Project 180 streetscapes from Reno to Main.
• Pedestrian access to Bricktown.

Renovations are expected to begin in 2015. The grant is required to be spent by 2016.

The $13.6 million TIGER grant will be matched locally with funds from MAPS 3, Project 180, Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

“This wouldn’t have been possible without our state and regional partners,” added Cornett. “ODOT and ACOG are important allies in our transportation planning and implementation in central Oklahoma.”

DOT awarded 52 TIGER grants, totaling $474 million, to help improve the transportation infrastructure in 37 states.