The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) reached dual milestones for the OC Streetcar project on Nov. 30 with the signing of a Full-Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) and a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of project construction.
The $149-million FFGA was signed by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Acting Administration K. Jane Williams and OCTA CEO Darrell E. Johnson. The funds will be provided through the FTA's Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program and, when combined with other federal funding, will pay for more than half of the approximately $408-million project. The remainder of the project cost will be covered by state and local sources, which include state cap-and-trade funds through the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, also known as OC Go.
“This project is a good example of leveraging federal funds to support locally-driven transportation priorities,” said FTA Acting Administrator Williams. “It will provide important multi-modal connections to Amtrak, Metrolink commuter rail, Greyhound and local bus service.”
A ceremony was held immediately following the FFGA signing to signal the beginning of construction on what is described as the country's first modern electric streetcar.
The OC Streetcar will run on a 4.1-mile route, serving Santa Ana’s downtown and dense employment areas that include county and local government offices and courthouses in the Civic Center. The streetcar will carry passengers between Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center and a transit stop at Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove, running along Santa Ana Boulevard, Fourth Street and the Pacific Electric right-of-way and connecting with OCTA’s busiest bus routes.
“The OC Streetcar project is now a reality because of significant collaboration backed by sound transportation planning,” said Johnson.
OC Streetcar is scheduled to begin testing and operations in late 2021. HDR was hired to manage the project and HNTB designed the streetcar plans. Walsh Construction was awarded a $220.5-million contract in September 2018 to build the project and Siemens is providing the eight vehicles for the route.
Six vehicles – with two spares – will operate daily, making stops at 10 locations in each direction every 10 to 15 minutes. The Siemens S70 streetcar vehicles will feature the OC Streetcar logo and will be painted with the familiar blue, orange and white, in keeping with other OCTA transit services.
Each vehicle has room for 70 seats and can carry up to 180 passengers at a time. The OC Streetcar is expected to carry approximately 7,300 passengers per day within its first year of operation.
