Downtown Tampa's TECO Line Streetcar may be coming closer to where you live.
Leaders from the city of Tampa, FDOT and HART announced Tuesday the award of $67.3 million to the streetcar extension and modernization project. This is the largest transit funding award the state has ever given to the Tampa Bay area.
The additional funding allows the project to expand northward into the Tampa Heights area. To complete the expansion, the project will also need federal funding. But, this state funding pledge is a big first step.
Mayor Jane Castor, the District Secretary of Transportation with FDOT David Gwynn, HART board member Melanie Williams and others came together for the big reveal.
Leaders currently are working on their InVision project, which includes replacing existing streetcars with more modern-looking vehicles, creating a 1.3-mile guideway with overhead power to connect downtown with Tampa Heights and other modifications to the current system.
The TECO line is a 2.7-mile fixed transit system created in 2002 and expanded in 2010. It's a joint project between the city and HART that connects parts of downtown Tampa with the Channelside area and Ybor City.
The project's timeline shows phase two of the project was completed in August 2020.
Since October 2018, the streetcar has offered free fares as part of a grant through FDOT.
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