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October 20, 2010: Transportation Secretary LaHood Presents Check for Atlanta Streetcar Construction |
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Atlanta, GA - Today Congressman John Lewis, 5th Congressional District Georgia, and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed received a large check in the sum of $47,667,777 for the construction of the Georgia Transit Connector; Atlanta Streetcar Project from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.
The official announcement came during an early morning press conference that included Secretary LaHood, Congressman Lewis, Mayor Reed, Congressmen Hank Johnson, and David Scott, Dr. Beverly Scott, General Manager and CEO of MARTA, and A.J. Robinson, President of Central Atlanta, Atlanta Downtown Improvement District.
"I am so proud to once again welcome my good friend and former colleague, Secretary LaHood to the 5th Congressional District of Georgia. The Secretary truly knows that transportation means everything. Just more than a year ago, the Secretary visited Atlanta to announce a $10.8 million grant for MARTA, and today he presents a big, big check to the City of Atlanta," said Congressman Lewis.
The funding received today will be used to develop a 2.6 mile, in street modern streetcar in downtown Atlanta. The Georgia Transit Connector will provide new service from Centennial Olympic Park to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Grady Memorial Hospital, Children's Health Care of Atlanta, Georgia State University, and other key community, tourism and business districts.
The streetcar will also connect the previously mentioned locations with the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), this region's bus and rail system.
This grant is the direct result of countless meetings, conference calls, and written correspondence between U.S. Rep. John Lewis and Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, in close coordination with Mayor Kasim Reed and the City of Atlanta. In a letter sent to Secretary LaHood in August of this year, Rep. Lewis expressed his strong support for the Georgia Transit Connector Project citing such benefits as providing much-needed services connecting the Auburn Historic District to downtown Atlanta and to MARTA.
In addition to the current transportation project that was acknowledged today, Congressman John Lewis has introduced legislation on motor coach safety, Highway Transit Fund fairness, and protecting transit agencies and other local public entities from the domino effect of the economic crisis.
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