There are a lot of funding pieces involved in the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project, and while officials try to lay it out to the public, they are often asked a specific question. Will the city move forward if the U.S. Congress doesn’t approve the Federal Transit Administration’s $69.7 million Small Starts grant for construction?
Bruce Rizzieri, director of the city’s transit department, says yes, but: “If we don’t get Small Starts, we won’t be doing about 75 percent of the project.”
Rizzieri explained that a portion of the project could still be completed with the remainder of the $119 million total project funds — about $49.6 million — which would provide infrastructure improvements to the Central Avenue transit corridor. Those funds are already set aside for such purposes, he said. Of that amount, about $18.7 million would come from four different local sources, including $13 million that the Albuquerque City Council authorized last year from the city’s gross receipts taxes revenue bonds — money that the city will start spending on the project once it secures a preconstruction agreement from the FTA authorizing it to count toward the city’s local match to the Small Starts grant. For the grant, the city must provide 20 percent in matching funds to the federal government’s 80 percent.
Another chunk of federal funds, $31 million, is also already available from 12 separate sources, including the FTA, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program, and the Surface Transportation Program, which are provided for streetscape and intersection improvements.
Unlike those funds, Rizzieri explained that the Small Starts grant can only be used to implement new transit projects like ART, and that it would be used to build new median platform “island” stations and redesign the corridor to provide a dedicated center bus lane.
According to Michael Riordan, chief operations officer for the mayor’s office and the city of Albuquerque, the city will start spending the $18.7 million in local money, which also includes about $4.7 million in matching funds from a Central Avenue streetscape infrastructure program, and a roadway rehabilitation allocation, if it receives a “letter of no prejudice” from the FTA. The local sources are enough to float the project until Congress decides whether or not to approve the Small Starts grant, likely in May. The city won’t spend more than the $18.7 million until it has confirmation. If confirmation is forthcoming, the city would be able to continue spending above the $18.7 million with general obligation money that it would pay back once the $69.7 million in federal funds are in hand.
Four more public meetings are planned for neighborhoods affected by the project. Access the schedule here.
By: Blake Driver (Albuquerque Business First)
Click here to view source article.
