The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced $80 million in additional funding for a project that will connect two busy San Diego neighborhoods by trolley.
The San Diego Mid-Coast Light Rail project, lead by the San Diego Association of Governments, will receive the funding for a 10.9-mile light rail extension from downtown San Diego's Old Town to the University City area, the department's Federal Transit Administration said Wednesday.
The project is predicted to cost as much as $2.17 billion to construct and has already been slated to receive $1.04 billion from the Department of Transportation.
The extension will include nine stops, five of which will be aerial. Some of the stops include the Veteran’s Affair’s Medical Center, three beach communities, the University of California San Diego campus and the UTC mall.
SANDAG officials say the project will generate over 14,000 jobs during the construction period, which began in September 2016 and is scheduled for completion by fall 2021.
Once the construction is complete, the trolley service is expected to increase the county’s economy by cutting parking needs, reducing traffic and increasing access to jobs, according to SANDAG.
