SAN ANTONIO – VIA Metropolitan Transit is pursuing an alternate federal funding route for a second Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) corridor, an East-West line to complement the North-South plan already in motion.
The estimated cost to build an ART route running east to west in the Alamo City is roughly $300 million. The agency could secure up to half that amount through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Small Starts Capital Investment Grants Program.
Small Starts is a streamlined program that leads to fewer FTA decision points between beginning the project and achieving grant funding. The use of this program could result in an earlier completion date. However, this comes with less flexibility.
VIA will still need to meet certain FTA requirements before securing Small Starts funding, including identifying other funding sources and completing sufficient engineering and design work for the proposed East-West, or Silver Line, project.
The plan is to have the second ART line operational by 2029. It would run on from the airport area through downtown and to the Missions area south of the center city.