The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently awarded the Seattle Department of Transportation a $59.9 million Capital Investment Grants Program grant for its Madison Street Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project.
The $133.4 million project will improve connections between downtown Seattle and surrounding neighborhoods. The 2.3-mile RapidRide G Line will operate along an east-west corridor from downtown Seattle in the west to the Madison Valley neighborhood in the east, with connections to First Hill, Capitol Hill, and the Central District.
The new line also will provide multimodal connections with other King County Metro RapidRide BRT services, the Seattle Streetcar System, Sound Transit’s Link light rail system, and Washington State and King and Kitsap County ferries.
The project includes purchasing nine low-floor diesel electric buses, a real-time bus arrival information system, off-board fare collection, and transit signal priority.
“FTA is proud to join our partners in Seattle to improve transit connections and expand the RapidRide Bus Rapid Transit network in King County,” FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said. “Transit riders on the Madison Street BRT line can look forward to more efficient service and other amenities that will improve travel times in this busy corridor.”
Construction will begin in September 2024.