(Renée C. Lee, Houston Chronicle)
Houston’s light rail project achieved a milestone Monday with the signing of $900 million in grant agreements by the head of the Federal Transit Administration.
The grants, the first federal funds ever provided for rail in Houston, were formally approved Monday in a pep rally-like ceremony attended by FTA chief Peter Rogoff, Mayor Annise Parker, Metropolitan Transit Authority officials, local members of Congress and others. They will pay more than half the estimated $1.6 billion combined cost of the North and Southeast lines, scheduled for completion in 2014, which will extend Houston’s light-rail network by 12 miles.
Local officials have been trying to secure the federal funds since voters approved a plan to expand Metro’s rail network in 2003. Those who have worked on the project over the years, including former Houston Mayor Bill White, blamed an arduous grant process, a divided congressional delegation and stiff competition with other cities for the long delay. (Read the full story here.)
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