NY-2021-074

Purpose:
The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) is applying for $60,888,093 in FFY 2019 Section 5309 Capital Investment Grant (CIG) Small Starts funding available for award under discretionary ID #D2019-SMST-003. Funds requested in this grant will be used to complete the Albany Washington-Western Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) BusPlus Purple Line Project (hereafter referred to as the Project).

Activities to be Performed:
The Project is an 8.5-mile BRT line from the Downtown Albany Bus Terminal through the Harriman State Office Campus, the State University of New York at Albany (UALBANY), to Crossgates Mall. The Project includes construction of a one-mile semi-exclusive busway across the university campus, 16 limited stops, purchase of 16 uniquely branded buses (plus one maintenance vehicle), and expansion of the existing Albany Bus Maintenance Garage to accommodate the additional fleet. The Project is intended to feature transit signal priority queue bypass lanes, real-time bus arrival information, and branding. The Project is the third branded BRT to be implemented in CDTA's service area.

Expected Outcome:
Service is planned to operate seven days a week with buses every seven to 10 minutes during weekday daytime hours and buses every 15 to 30 minutes during weekday evenings and weekends. Daily hours of operation are to be from 4:00 AM to 2:00 AM on weekdays, from 5:00 AM to 2:30 AM on Saturdays, and from 6:00 AM to 1:30 AM on Sundays. The revenue service date is 12/01/2023. The total overall CIG project cost is $77,684,124. Funding sources for the overall CIG project are shown below:

- Federal Funds ($63,378,865)
- $60,888,093 FFY2019 Section 5309 CIG Small Starts (78.4% of the total project cost)
- $2,490,772 American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (discretionary ID #D2021-RPSS-011) will be submitted in a future TRAMS grant. The ARP funds are to be used toward construction costs on the project.

- Non-Federal Funds ($14,305,259)
- $12,775,259 CDTA General Fund Revenues
- $1,530,000 State University of New York at Albany Gardenway Easement (in-kind land donation)

The total CIG project cost is $77,684,124. The scope of work included in this grant is $75,193,352; the remaining $2,490,772 in scope is to be funded with ARP funds in a future separate grant at a 100% federal share per direction in law. While the CIG percentage in this grant appears to exceed 80%, the CIG share is instead calculated based on the total CIG project cost and is 78.4%.

Intended Beneficiaries:
CDTA's second-busiest transit services operate in this corridor where approximately 30 percent of the population does not own an automobile. The Project is intended to provide direct, frequent east-west transit service more quickly and more reliably in the corridor. CDTA expects to attract new transit riders and to encourage transit and pedestrian-oriented revitalization in this corridor that serves major institutions, offices, colleges and universities, as well as retail and urban residential areas. The Project, to be branded as the BusPlus Purple Line BRT, is planned to connect with the existing BusPlus Red Line BRT to Schenectady and the recently constructed BusPlus Blue Line BRT to Troy and Waterford, thus providing improved transit access throughout the Capital District.

Subrecipient Activities:
Not applicable.

Notes:
On December 29, 2020, FTA issued a Letter of No Prejudice allowing CDTA to incur costs to initiate construction activities for the Albany Bus Garage Expansion with non-federal funds. Further details are included in the attachment FTA LONP 2020-12-29.

Capital District Transportation Authority

20.500 - Federal Transit Capital Investment Grants

FTA Region 2 [DOT - FTA]

FTA Office of Budget and Policy [DOT - FTA]

New York United States

State-Wide

None