WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced a construction grant award of $60.9 million to the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) for the Albany Washington Western Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project in New York. The 8.5-mile BRT line will provide frequent, reliable, green, and safe public transportation, helping residents get to where they need to go, including work, schools, healthcare facilities, and recreational venues, between downtown Albany and the Crossgates Mall.

"This bus rapid transit line will get more people where they need to go quickly, affordably, and in an environmentally-friendly way," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "We're proud to help make it possible."

The Washington Western Corridor project will operate from the downtown Albany Bus Terminal through the Harriman State Office Campus and the State University of New York at Albany (UAlbany) to Crossgates Mall. The project will provide crucial transit service to key residential areas and provide frequent, consistent service to reduce travel time and improve reliability. The total project cost is $77.7 million with $60.9 million in funding provided through FTA's Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program.

"The Albany region has so much to offer and FTA is proud to join our partners in New York in connecting the Capital District with Bus Rapid Transit," said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez.

The project, the third BRT route for the Capital District region, includes a one-mile semi-exclusive busway across the UAlbany campus, limited stops, 16 uniquely branded buses, transit signal priority, queue bypass lanes, real-time bus arrival information, and expansion of the existing Albany bus maintenance garage to accommodate the additional buses.

FTA's CIG Program provides funding for major transit infrastructure capital investments nationwide. Projects accepted into the program must go through a multi-year, multi-step process according to requirements in law to be eligible for consideration to receive program funds.

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