Tagged: m-1 rail

Update 11:36 a.m.

At the press conference this morning, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the M-1 Rail project can go forward using a $25 million TIGER grant (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery).

The money will help support the construction of the $137 million streetcar project.

The 3.3 mile streetcar line is planned to travel from Midtown Detroit to New Center. It's planned to have 11 stations, with connections to Campus Martius, Comerica Park, the Detroit Medical Center area, and Wayne State University.

LaHood also announced an additional $6.5 million in funding to help develop a "bus rapid transit network" to help connect other destinations around Detroit to the transportation network.

In a statement, LaHood said the state's passage of a law authorizing a regional transit authority for southeast Michigan will "will improve access to jobs, education, medical care, and other destinations for residents in the Detroit metro area."

“The Obama Administration is committed to the creation of a modern transportation system that will create jobs Detroit needs right now, while spurring new economic development to help this region grow stronger in the years to come,” said LaHood.

9:20 a.m.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is in Detroit this morning to announce $25 million in funding for the city's M-1 rail line.

David Shepardson of the Detroit News reports the M-1 rail money was expected, but federal money for "a system of rapid buses will receive less than initially forecast."

LaHood — who will make the formal announcement at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Wayne State University with Gov. Rick Snyder and Mayor Dave Bing — told congressional offices Friday morning the news.

The funds will support construction of a planned 3.3-mile streetcar line that will cost $137 million.

LaHood also said that $6.5 million in Federal Transit Administration planning funds will help Michigan develop a bus rapid transit network to expand transit options, connecting downtown Detroit with its suburbs and key destinations in the region.

M-1 supporters say construction of the rail project could begin this year.

Michigan Radio's Sarah Cwiek is covering the press conference.

DETROIT (AP) - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is coming to Detroit on Friday to make "a major funding announcement" that is expected to involve plans for a light rail system between the city's downtown and the cultural, medical and educational center a few miles north.

LaHood's office said in a statement Wednesday that Mayor Dave Bing, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and others will be at Wayne State University to reveal details of a plan "that will significantly expand transit options in downtown Detroit."

The U.S. Transportation Department didn't reveal details, but LaHood has been in talks for months with city, regional and state officials on their part of a deal to create a 3.3-mile light rail line that's expected to cost $137 million.

You can say one thing about the backers of the M-1 light rail project in Detroit, they're persistent.

The on-again, off-again federal funding of the project is now on-again, according to reports from the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News.

The Freep reports U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is expected to visit Detroit next week with $25 million for the light rail project along 3.3 miles of Woodward Avenue.

The rail line is proposed between downtown Detroit and New Center.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood met with Michigan officials today to discuss the development of a regional transit authority to oversee a light rail line in Detroit.

A proposed light rail project on Detroit’s Woodward Avenue won’t be getting millions in federal transit dollars—for now.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood awarded the so-called M-1 project a $25 million TIGER grant in 2010. But late last year, LaHood, Governor Snyder, and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing decided that money would be better spent on a regional rapid bus system.

Since then, M-1’s private backers—who have pledged millions toward the 3.4-mile span connecting downtown Detroit and the New Center area—have rallied to re-gain government support for the project.

Federal investment in Detroit light rail? Ray LaHood in Detroit today

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be in Detroit today to meet with a group of business leaders and government officials. The topic of discussion will be the on-again, off-again light rail system in Detroit.

More from MPRN's Rick Pluta:

The M-1 project on the main thoroughfare of Woodward Avenue could eventually connect with a regional system.

Governor Rick Snyder plans to attend. He says light rail is part of a strategy to make Michigan’s largest city as attractive to entrepreneurs and young people as Chicago or Boston...

Businesspeople and government officials hope for more federal financial support for the project, which would operate for several years before reaching the break-even point.

Detroit's top lawyer says consent agreement with the state is not legal

Detroit's consent agreement with the state of Michigan is facing a legal challenge by Krystal Crittendon. More from the Detroit News:

The city's top attorney, Krystal A. Crittendon, could single-handedly derail the historic consent agreement between the city and state if she can convince a judge to endorse her opinion that the document is illegal.

Michigan Radio's Sarah Cwiek reports Crittendon doesn't have the full support of Mayor Dave Bing and some city council members:

Mayor Dave Bing initially made conflicting statements about a legal challenge. He publicly opposed it, but then admitted he supported the “concept” of the letter.

But now Bing says litigation would be a distraction.

Officials with the state have called the challenge nonsense. They plan to move forward with the agreement.

Venus and the Sun come together for a once-in-a-lifetime show

Tonight, the planet Venus can be seen crossing in front of the sun. It's known as the "transit of Venus" and it only happens once around every one hundred years.

Michigan Radio's Lindsey Smith says she "stumbled across the transit while gulping down an awesome new beer at one of my favorite spots in Benton Harbor, The Livery Microbrewery."

People in Michigan will be able to see the transit of Venus for a roughly three hour window beginning at 6 o’clock and lasting until the sun sets.

The transit won’t happen again until the year 2117, so it’s a pretty big deal to professional and amateur astronomers alike.

“Oh yeah, we’re having a full out party,” said Richard Bell, President of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society.