Synergy contractors working hard on site at Clementina location.

The Central Subway Project received great news this week! The project has been awarded $27 million in tunnel component funds from the California Transportation Commission (CTC).  These funds are awarded for the Central Subway’s future connection to the California High Speed Rail that is currently in planning.  The route of the High Speed Rail is to begin in Los Angeles with its Northern Terminus to be in San Francisco at the Transbay Terminal that is slated to begin construction in August 2010.  The Central Subway connection to the High Speed Rail will be at the prospective Brannan Street Station located at Fourth Street and Brannan, along the Central Subway alignment.  These funds will help with construction costs for the tunnel portion of the project and will also decrease the amount needed from local funding sources.

The following in italics is cited from the Muni proposal to the CTC:

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni) is proposing to program:

• The tunnel component ($27 million) of its Central Subway light rail line that starts at the Caltrain (PCJPB) depot and goes north to Chinatown.  The Central Subway will be the first major north-south rail connection to the east-west BART/Muni subway at Market.

Muni is proposing to extend the connectivity of its system with the existing BART system, Caltrain system and the proposed high-speed system.  The connectivity should increase ridership and reduce travel times, similar to the benefits that would occur with the Los Angeles’ Regional Connector.  The tunnel component will permit Muni to begin the tunneling.

Commission staff recommends that the project be programmed.

Chairs and Commissioners, May 10, 2010

The Central Subway Project continues to press forward with growing support and progress. This awarding of funds is seen as a great accomplishment and is an affirmation of the Central Subway’s importance to the future of transit growth in the City of San Francisco.

*Correction: The transfer stations for the high-speed rail will be at the Fourth and King Stations. The Brannan Station will be the last surface station before the tunnel on the Central Subway phase.

This year the FTA is working with eighteen transit projects similar to Central Subway. All of them have unique challenges and local issues, but all are following the same funding approval as the  Central Subway Project.

Here is a quick summary to look over and compare the Central Subway Project with other transit projects:

• San Francisco is one of two U.S. Light Rail Transit (LRT) projects entering final design with a Medium-High rating – the Project has achieved and held this rating for three consecutive years – see spreadsheet in column B, Overall Project Rating.
• If we include those ahead of the Central Subway now waiting for the FFGA, the Central Subway is one of three out of ten LRT/Bus Rapid Transit projects to achieve a Medium-High rating. Every project in the U.S. that has achieved a series of Medium-High ratings has received a commitment from the federal government for FTA funding.
• Like the Central Subway, all of the projects are new, major urban connectors mostly involving significant tunneling, bridges, electrification, new vehicles, and exclusive Guideway – see spreadsheet “Projects” column, Seattle, University Link Minneapolis Central Corridor, in bold type.
• San Francisco’s total capital costs are below the average of the $1.8 billion project costs for the six projects entering Final Design – see spreadsheet column D.
• At the same time, the $942 million dollar federal Total New Starts Funding is the highest percentage for all six projects waiting for the FFGA. The amount is well above the average of $710 million – this is due in part to recognition of the Phase 1 local funding – see spreadsheet column E.
• The President’s budget proposes (see spreadsheet last column H) annual allocations that approach the Project’s expected allocations for the Central Subway after the FFGA.
• The President’s budget proposes the allocation of the full amount requested for the Central Subway in 2011 – the amount that the Project cash flow requires next year.

Transit Project that FTA Recommended for FFGAs in its 2011 Annual Report to Congress

Source: FTA 2010 Annual New Starts Report to Congress, FY 2011 Funding for New Starts and Small Starts Projects

The table below shows the eighteen projects.

New Starts Funding Table

]]> http://www.centralsubwayblog.com/blog/2010/03/fta-on-u-s-transit-project-approvals/feed/ 0 http://www.centralsubwayblog.com/blog/2010/02/project-funding-update/ http://www.centralsubwayblog.com/blog/2010/02/project-funding-update/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:21:29 +0000 CentralSubway http://www.centralsubwayblog.com/blog/?p=428 With the February utility relocation for the future Moscone Station and Portal Tunnel groundbreaking for the Central Subway Project and the significant economic challenges across the U.S., there has been new interest and questions regarding the funding and progress of this project. Along with many other major cities, the Central Subway is for the improvement of light rail service and overall quality of life. We have heard questions that ask, “How can San Francisco do this project?” It is often assumed that the design and construction costs are competing or using the scarce funds from SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) daily transit service. We want to respond to this misunderstanding and to provide background information on the funding basis of the Central Subway Project.

Utility Relocation

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) granted the Central Subway approval to enter into Final Design (FD) on January 7, 2010. This approval was a major accomplishment for the Project and gives SFMTA pre-award authority to incur costs for upcoming FD activities, demolition and other non construction activities. The next step for the Central Subway Project is to secure Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA). The FFGA is a multi-year, contractual agreement that is made between FTA and SFMTA. The FFGA provides the funds that are utilized for construction of the Project.  When this agreement is made, the SFMTA formally establishes the maximum level of federal financial assistance and the terms and conditions of federal participation. This commitment to the FFGA requires the SFMTA to deliver the contracted project on schedule, within budget, and in compliance with all applicable federal requirements.

Please be assured that the Central Subway project is and will continue to be under significant financial scrutiny each year and we must submit a report to be evaluated under the Federal New Starts Review program.  Under this program all aspects of the project are analyzed by the FTA including the benefit-to-cost ratios, ridership, technical approach and financial capacity. As you can imagine, the process of acquiring federal funding for a transportation project of this scale is rigorous.

All New Starts funds allocated for this project cannot be redirected to other transportation projects or operations. The New Starts financial assistance only applies to the Central Subway Project due to the submittal of the New Starts report and the project is subject to the availability of appropriated funds and our continued performance under the terms and conditions of the FFGA. If funding is redirected to other operations within SFMTA, all the secured federal funding will be gone.

The SFMTA continues to work with local, state and regional partners to secure non-federal funding to work toward a Full Funding Grant Agreement with the Federal Transit Administration.

The Central Subway will extend light rail service with a surface stop on 4^th Street near Brannan Street and subway service with stations at the Moscone Center, Union Square and Chinatown neighborhoods.  It will operate as an extension of the T Third light rail line which opened for full revenue service in April 2007.  The two-phase Third Street Light Rail Project will unite the City’s established civic, business, retail and cultural centers with the diverse communities along the light rail line and encourage economic revitalization along the entire corridor.