New Orleans plans three new streetcar lines

Plan calls for TIGER grants

Steve Hawley, Sep 21, 09.

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) has proposed three new streetcar lines and is hoping for federal funding, according to The Times-Picayune.

The article notes:

Since Hurricane Katrina wiped out more than 70 percent of its ridership, the cash-poor RTA has been unable to borrow money. But last month, the rating agency Standard & Poor’s, thanks to steps taken recently to stabilize RTA finances, raised the authority’s bond rating to investment grade for the first time since the storm.

The agency is asking the federal government to provide $121 million - 57 percent of the costs - including $95.6 million from the TIGER stimulus program. The RTA would provide the remaining $92 million through bonds and from existing funds.

The article states:

Competition for the [TIGER] grants is expected to be fierce, as transit systems across the nation vie for light rail projects, new buses, and improvements to roads and repair and administrative facilities.

The RTA also could be pitted against in-state rivals, including the state itself. The Department of Transportation and Development is considering applying for more than $200 million in TIGER dollars to fill the budget gap in big-ticket items such as construction of segments of Interstate 49.

Under law, no more than $300 million of the $1.5 billion [nationwide total] can be awarded to one state.

Several Houston-area entities are also applying for TIGER grants. The recipients will be announced in January.

(Photo credit: Infrogmation. GNU Free Documentation license version 1.2 or later.)