Austin Light Rail Phase 1 accepted into project development of federal CIG program

The Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) has entered the project development phase for its Austin Light Rail Phase 1 Project under the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) New Starts program – the competitive grant program that funds transit capital investments.

ATP is now eligible for future reimbursement of allowable costs incurred for the planning and design work to develop the project. This project development phase is an initial step towards the execution of a final grant agreement with the FTA.

“This milestone signals federal support for this voter-approved project and brings Austin Light Rail one step closer to delivering billions in infrastructure investments and jobs to Texas,” said Greg Canally, executive director of the Austin Transit Partnership. “Our extensive work with our community, along with the expertise and diligence of the ATP team and partnership with FTA, has allowed us to reach this important milestone.”

During the next two years, ATP will complete the project development phase, to include completing National Environmental Policy Act requirements and advancing architectural and engineering design of the system. Completing these and other activities will ensure sufficient information for FTA to evaluate and rate the light-rail project under the CIG criteria. FTA will remain in contact with ATP, providing technical assistance and project oversight as Austin Light Rail Phase I moves through project development.

“ATP is ready for this moment—we have both national and small business firms to help advance through the project development process. We look forward to working with the community and FTA as, together, we continue to advance Austin Light Rail,” said Jennifer Pyne, executive vice president, planning, community and federal programs for ATP.