Capital $$: One down, one to go
A big thank you to our Congressional delegation, including Speaker Hastert and Senators Obama and Durbin, for their help in the recent passage of the federal transportation bill. When signed by the President, this legislation will provide Illinois with a 33 percent increase in capital funds as compared to the last federal transportation bill ($927 million vs. $1.236 billion).
Capital funds for construction, maintenance, and vehicles should be distinguished from operating funds, which pay for day-to-day service costs such as fuel and bus and rail operators. Since the federal government no longer provides operating funds, CTA operations are funded solely through regional sales taxes and fares. Most of the last year's public discussion transit funding has focused on operating funds, but capital funds are equally important.
We at CTA are extremely grateful for our Congressional delegation’s hard work (this bill took almost three years to pass!) in prioritizing major mass transit projects, including expansion of CTA service to include the Circle Line, an extension of the Red Line south to 130th Street, an extension of the Yellow Line northwest to Old Orchard Mall, and the Orange Line to Ford City Mall. There are also dollars programmed for maintenance of existing CTA capital assets, and the purchase of new rail cars and buses.
The federal bill authorizes these projects to receive funding, but to actually get an appropriation (i.e., cash) the Federal Transit Administration requires both a competitive grant application and a local “match”. When the last federal bill passed the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor came to the table with their own state capital funding program, Illinois FIRST, to match the federal dollars. The strong state funding helped make our projects competitive. To date, there is no equivalent program to ensure that we can qualify for these federal funds. Nonetheless, I’m hopeful that our state elected officials will create a matching capital program so CTA, Metra and Pace can build these projects. As Jim LaBelle of Chicago Metropolis 2020 said, “the federal funding tosses down the gauntlet for the state and the region to create a solid funding formula as early as the fall legislative session.”
Metra, Pace and CTA will use these critical federal funds to keep their systems running and deliver the expanded and improved infrastructure developments that passengers need. The opportunity to get a matching state capital plan will be there: the federal funds are scheduled to begin flowing on October 1, 2005, just before the General Assembly returns to Springfield for the fall veto session on October 25.
For capital projects, it's one down, and one to go...
Capital funds for construction, maintenance, and vehicles should be distinguished from operating funds, which pay for day-to-day service costs such as fuel and bus and rail operators. Since the federal government no longer provides operating funds, CTA operations are funded solely through regional sales taxes and fares. Most of the last year's public discussion transit funding has focused on operating funds, but capital funds are equally important.
We at CTA are extremely grateful for our Congressional delegation’s hard work (this bill took almost three years to pass!) in prioritizing major mass transit projects, including expansion of CTA service to include the Circle Line, an extension of the Red Line south to 130th Street, an extension of the Yellow Line northwest to Old Orchard Mall, and the Orange Line to Ford City Mall. There are also dollars programmed for maintenance of existing CTA capital assets, and the purchase of new rail cars and buses.
The federal bill authorizes these projects to receive funding, but to actually get an appropriation (i.e., cash) the Federal Transit Administration requires both a competitive grant application and a local “match”. When the last federal bill passed the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor came to the table with their own state capital funding program, Illinois FIRST, to match the federal dollars. The strong state funding helped make our projects competitive. To date, there is no equivalent program to ensure that we can qualify for these federal funds. Nonetheless, I’m hopeful that our state elected officials will create a matching capital program so CTA, Metra and Pace can build these projects. As Jim LaBelle of Chicago Metropolis 2020 said, “the federal funding tosses down the gauntlet for the state and the region to create a solid funding formula as early as the fall legislative session.”
Metra, Pace and CTA will use these critical federal funds to keep their systems running and deliver the expanded and improved infrastructure developments that passengers need. The opportunity to get a matching state capital plan will be there: the federal funds are scheduled to begin flowing on October 1, 2005, just before the General Assembly returns to Springfield for the fall veto session on October 25.
For capital projects, it's one down, and one to go...
posted by Carole Brown | 8/01/2005 02:53:00 PM
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