Arbor Update

US House approves $100m for Detroit - Ann Arbor rail

29. July 2005 • Murph
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The US House yesterday approved a transportation bill (expected to win Senate approval today) that includes $1.123b annually for Michigan for the next 3 years, including $100m specified for a rapid rail connection between Ann Arbor/Ypsi and Detroit. The bill also would restore Amtrak’s funding to current levels, rather than cutting it in half, allowing service to Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Port Huron to continue.

UPDATE, 30 July: The Senate has also passed the transportation bill, and President Bush is expected to sign it, despite it being around $3billion more (a whopping 1.05%) than he had said he’d support. The aforementioned $100m for Ann Arbor – Detroit rapid transit is explained by the Ann Arbor News as going towards an “engineering study”:

“This is really good news. The preliminary engineering study is a big part of it,’’ Paul E. Tait, SEMCOG’s executive director and an Ypsilanti resident, said this morning of the infusion of federal money.

He said consultants will present a study on different mass transit modes, ranging from commuter train to express buses, for public discussion in September. SEMCOG next year then could choose a preferred method of rapid transit, Tait said.

The Detroit News discusses other Michigan projects specifically funded in the bill, including $29m for the Detroit waterfront and $43m to improve traffic flow at Port Huron’s Blue Water Bridge.

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1. Follow this link to the text of the relevant section of the bill and then search the pdf for “detroit.” There are 264 project authorized at least for preliminary engineering nationwide in the next 4 years, with 52 having specific authorizations.
      —Dale    Jul. 29 '05 - 03:16PM    #
   
2. Those 52 including Detroit as one of the 5 or 6 largest designated appropriations.
      —Dale    Jul. 29 '05 - 03:18PM    #
   
3. Awesome.
      —Brandon    Jul. 29 '05 - 10:50PM    #
   
4. This have anything to do with that front-pager in the News concerning transit links between Detroit and Ann Arbor? I try not to buy the News, and haven’t read it yet. If so, that’s excellent. I recently had the pleasure and privilege of taking the train to Royal Oak and must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. If they can improve the system, though, I’m obviously all for it!
      —Lazaro    Jul. 30 '05 - 01:44PM    #