05.29.20

Senators Cantwell, Murray Announce Major Federal Grant For Proposed Mill Plain Bus Rapid Transit Line

New $24.9 million federal grant will support new 10-mile bus rapid transit along Vancouver’s second busiest transit corridor

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced new federal funding for the Mill Plain Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project in Vancouver. The $24.9 million award from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) was allocated from the federal Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program, and will go to the Clark County Public Transit Benefit Area (C-TRAN) to support construction of the system’s second bus rapid transit line.

“The Mill Plain Boulevard BRT line will expand transportation options, reduce traffic congestion, and improve travel times through one of Vancouver’s busiest transit corridors, including major employment areas and key activity centers” said Senator Cantwell. 

“The new Mill Plain bus line will help families and commuters safely navigate the city, while also helping lower traffic congestion and vehicle emissions,” said Senator Murray. “That’s a win-win for the Vancouver community, and I’ll keep fighting to make sure the federal government is doing its part to bring transportation priorities like this to fruition in Vancouver and across the rest of our state.”

The new 10-mile bus rapid transit line would run along Mill Plain Boulevard, the agency's second highest ridership transit corridor, and connect downtown Vancouver to east Vancouver; the route that currently serves the Mill Plain Boulevard corridor carried over 776,200 passengers in 2018. The proposed BRT service would connect riders to several of the region's key economic, medical and educational centers, including Clark College, Columbia Tech Center, Vancouver Clinic and PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. The implementation of a BRT line would allow C-TRAN to improve travel time and reliability along the Mill Plain corridor, where population and employment growth are increasing: C-TRAN's first BRT line delivered a 45 percent increase in ridership, and the Mill Plain BRT will allow them to expand on this progress as they continue providing efficient and reliable service to the Vancouver area. Both Senators Cantwell and Murray are longtime champions of the CIG program and have fought hard to direct federal funding to vital Washington state transportation priorities. Previously, the senators have also successfully fought back attempts by President Trump and his administration to reduce funding for the CIG program.

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