Feds give favorable grade, financial support to Raleigh’s second planned BRT line
The second bus rapid transit line planned for Raleigh received high marks and a proposed contribution of tens of millions of dollars from the federal government on Thursday.
The southern leg of GoRaleigh’s BRT system will connect downtown with Garner, following South Wilmington Street to Garner Station Boulevard and the Walmart Supercenter on Rupert Road. It’s the second of four planned BRT lines that will radiate out from downtown, as part of the larger Wake Transit Plan endorsed by voters in 2016.
Construction of the first leg of the BRT system, along New Bern Avenue, is expected to start later this year and be finished by the summer of 2025.
Bus rapid transit combines some of the amenities of a light rail system with the lower cost and flexibility of buses. Passengers buy tickets in advance and board from covered, elevated platforms, and the buses get priority signals at intersections and dedicated lanes to help avoid getting slowed by traffic.
The city is counting on federal funding to help plan and build the system. To help decide which transit projects to support, the Federal Transit Administration assigns ratings, based on factors such as cost and expected ridership.
The FTA assigned the southern corridor of the Wake BRT system a “Medium-High” rating on Thursday, making it likely the line will continue to get federal support.
Also Thursday, the FTA pledged $85.9 million in federal funds for the project. That includes $8.1 million that’s already in hand and $77.8 million in President Joe Biden’s budget proposal for the coming year.
GoRaleigh estimates the southern leg of the BRT system will cost about $174 million. In endorsing the Wake Transit Plan, voters also put in place a half-cent sales tax for transit, which will help provide local support for BRT.
The southern leg will include about 3.8 miles of new, dedicated bus lanes along South Wilmington Street, with the final 1.3 miles of the route mixed with traffic along Garner Station Boulevard. Plans call for nine elevated and covered stations.
GoRaleigh is still designing the project and expects to be about a third done with the design work this summer.
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 5:28 PM.
