The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently awarded Madison, Wisc., a $110.6 million Capital Investment Grants program construction grant for the $194.3 million East-West Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
The project will create a 15-mile route running from the west side of Madison to the city of Sun Prairie in the northeast. The 60-foot zero-emission, battery-electric buses will travel through the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, downtown Madison and the East Towne Mall area on 9.5 miles of dedicated lanes and will receive transit signal priority.
In addition, new bus stations will provide level boarding and shelters will include real-time bus arrival information and security cameras. Riders on both ends of the line have to access the transit system through park-and-ride facilities.
“The East-West BRT will provide speedy service throughout Madison, while helping keep the air clean for generations of badgers to come,” FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said. “Bus Rapid Transit has been transforming communities across the country with fast, frequent service along key economic corridors, and Madison is just another community that will benefit from America’s largest ever investment in high-quality public transportation.”
The East-West BRT is expected to appeal to an estimated 115,000 new residents who are forecasted to move in and around downtown Madison by 2040.