The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has issued a letter officially allowing Orange County, California’s OC Streetcar project to enter the engineering phase. The letter signals that the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is meeting the requirements of the FTA’s New Starts program.
The OC Streetcar will operate on a 4.1-mile route from the Santa Ana train station, up Santa Ana Boulevard and Fourth Street and along the Pacific Electric right-of-way to Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove. The route will connect with 18 bus routes and Metrolink commuter rail. Construction is set to begin in 2018 with the start of testing and operations planned for 2020.
“Orange County is ready and eager to get its first streetcar and this is significant progress,” stated OCTA Chair Michael Hennessey. “When the streetcar is up and running, it will help provide better options for people to get out of their cars and use public transportation, whether it’s to get to work, to school or to a business meeting.”
The engineering phase includes the exact placement of tracks, stops and maintenance facilities. The final design will be determined and will include the relocation of existing utilities such as electrical and fiber-optic wiring, gas lines and water pipes and will determine how to best keep traffic flowing during construction.
The OCTA board released a request for proposals last month for the eight streetcars for the system. April 28 is the deadline for firms to submit a proposal to provide the streetcars. Up to six streetcars at a time are planned to run along the route, stopping every 10 minutes during peak hours at 10 stations in each direction. Two streetcars will serve as spare vehicles.
The engineering phase is the final stage before OCTA seeks a full funding grant agreement from the FTA, which could fund up to half of the $298-million. Last year, the project entered into FTA’s New Starts program and $125 million for the streetcar was included in the President’s 2017 fiscal budget. The State of California has awarded the project $25.5 million in cap-and-trade funds. Other funding will come from local sources, including Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements.