County Expects Key BRT Grant Soon
Construction could begin by spring 2021.
After years of planning and delays, Milwaukee County officials are expecting to finalize a critical grant agreement with the federal government for the East-West Bus Rapid Transit Project (BRT) this month.
The 9-mile bus line will run from downtown Milwaukee along Wisconsin Avenue and W. Bluemound Road out to the Milwaukee County Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa and provide high frequency service with dedicated lanes, traffic signal priority and off bus fare collection.
The plan is to run 11 Battery Electric Buses on the BRT. But during the 2021 budget process, a budget amendment to study the costs and benefits of BEB’s versus Hybrid buses was passed by the board. And one of the sponsors, Sup. Jason Haas, had previously asked MCTS Managing Director Dan Boehm if it would be possible to change the county’s policy “midstream” and put hybrid buses on the BRT line, indicating commitment to the BEB policy could be softening.
Securing a federal Small Starts Grant from the Federal Transit Administration is key to realizing the project. The grant will cover $40.9 million, approximately 79%, of the project costs. The remaining 21% will be covered by the county.
The county hasn’t received the grant agreement yet, but it expects to execute one this month. The project team has begun its search for a construction contractor, and it is preparing to begin interviewing manufacturers for its purchase of 11 BEB’s.
The grant is also the source of delay.
The project was included in the federal budget in 2019. In May of this year, President Donald Trump tweeted that the project was awarded $40.9 million through the US Department of Transportation.
As Urban Milwaukee has reported, delays have been caused by mismanagement of the grant program at the FTA. For example, the agency was failing to communicate grant criteria and, in some cases, changing project requirements after they had already been met, leaving planners in the dark as to how they would secure this grant pivotal to the project.
An investigation of the Capital Improvements Grant (CIG) program — of which the Small Starts program is a part — by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, found the FTA caused project delays and cost overruns throughout the country.
More about the East-West BRT Line
- Transportation: BRT Secures Key $41 Million Grant - Graham Kilmer - Dec 14th, 2020
- Transportation: County Expects Key BRT Grant Soon - Graham Kilmer - Dec 3rd, 2020
- Transportation: Increased Transit Funding Planned for 2021 - Graham Kilmer - Oct 15th, 2020
- Transportation: 27th Street Could Get Bus Rapid Transit Line - Graham Kilmer - Oct 9th, 2020
- Transportation: BRT Line Delayed Until 2022 - Graham Kilmer - Jul 11th, 2020
- Transportation: Trump Announces Funding for Milwaukee Bus Rapid Transit Line - Jeramey Jannene - May 28th, 2020
- Transportation: Committee Approves City BRT Agreement - Jeramey Jannene - Oct 23rd, 2019
- Transportation: Bus Rapid Transit Expected by 2021 - Graham Kilmer - Jul 12th, 2019
- East-West Bus Rapid Transit Project Receives Milestone Federal Approval - Milwaukee County Transit System - Nov 30th, 2018
- MCTS Submits Updated Application for Bus Rapid Transit Funding - Milwaukee County Transit System - Sep 8th, 2017
Read more about East-West BRT Line here
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