SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Federal transportation officials have given Sacramento $135 million to expand its light rail as the region seeks to increase the reach of its system.
The Sacramento Bee reports that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Transit Administration head Peter Rogoff appeared in town Monday to announce the grant.
The project will expand the system another 4.3-miles farther south, to Cosumnes River College.
Local officials want to build a seamless rail network that can take riders from streetcars to light rail to Amtrak, and perhaps eventually to high-speed rail.
LaHood said the Obama administration is eager to help Sacramento lead the way in reintroducing rail transit as a complement to freeways.
The money came from the federal New Starts transit fund, which is paying for half the project's cost.
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