Mass Transit Projects For Tampa To Be Fast-Tracked With Federal Grant

TAMPA, FL —The city of Tampa took a major step forward in fast-tracking mass transit and major transportation projects after receiving funding to establish a Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Office.

The city received a $1.75 million grant from the United States Department of Transportation Build America Bureau to open its own Regional Infrastructure Accelerator office, joining state transportation departments, metropolitan planning organizations and regional transit authorities across the nation.

Fort Lauderdale also received funding for a regional infrastructure office.

“This is an important moment for our city and region when it comes to transportation infrastructure projects and transit-oriented development, and puts us in a stronger position to finance critical improvements,” said Mayor Jane Castor.

“I appreciate the support and commitment of the federal government in helping Tampa Bay move forward on building the transportation infrastructure we need to meet current and future demands," she said.

The Regional Infrastructure Accelerate funding will assist regional agencies in developing innovative financing packages that may include federal grants, public-private partnerships, transportation infrastructure loans and special districts for capital and operating costs for fixed-guideway transit, such as bus lines with dedicated lanes, commuter trains, streetcars, monorails and multi-passenger autonomous vehicles.

It will also help the city create financing incentives for transit-oriented development along major corridors.

“Establishing a Regional Infrastructure Accelerator in the city of Tampa will play a key role in connecting our neighborhoods and region to jobs, businesses, and community,” said Castor. “It will also help redefine what development can look like when it’s centered around mass transit.”

Tampa has been in a transportation holding pattern for the past five years after the courts overturned a countywide transportation referendum to add a 1 percent sales tax over 30 years.

The referendum was approved by 54 percent of voters in 2018 and would have generated $342 million in its first full year to tackle the $13 billion backlog of transportation projects in unincorporated Hillsborough County and the cities of Temple Terrace, Tampa and Plant City.

Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White claimed the wording of the referendum was deceptive, and the courts agreed.

Castor said Tampa's Regional Infrastructure Accelerator designation will allow the city to move ahead with a wish list of mass transit plans including extending the existing TECO streetcar line from downtown Tampa into the neighborhoods beyond, extending the SunRunner Bus Rapid Transit in Pinellas County into Tampa with stops at Tampa International Airport and the University of South Florida and expanding the use of autonomous vehicles for commuters.

Castor said Build America Bureau administers several funding programs that can be used to finance local matches for state and federal funding for transportation infrastructure projects.

Regional Infrastructure Accelerator grant partners include the Florida Department of Transportation, the Hillsborough County Transportation Planning Organization, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART), USF, Brightline and the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority — all agencies that could benefit from the RIA’s services, she said.

TECO Line Streetcar Extension

The Federal Transit Administration is reviewing a project to help the city, the regional transit authority and Tampa Historic Streetcar Inc. fund the modernization and extension of the TECO Line Streetcar, which currently circulates 2.7 miles between Ybor City, the Channelside District and downtown Tampa, to the Tampa Heights neighborhood.

The cost of the Invision Tampa Streetcar 4-mile extension to Tampa Heights is estimated at $234.5 million with another $12 million needed annually to operate and maintain the streetcar system. Funding would come from the city, HART, the Federal Transit Administration's Small Starts Capital Improvement Grant and the Florida Department of Transportation, which pledged $700,000 last month to ensure that ridership remains free.

The FTA estimates that the streetcar extension would add 6,700 daily riders.

The Invision Tampa Streetcar extension project would be funded by the city of Tampa, HART, the FDOT, and possibly a Federal Transit Administration Small Starts Capital Improvement Grant.

The project would include expanding the existing streetcar maintenance and storage facility, adjusting the overhead power supply along the route, purchasing 10 modern streetcars and reconstructing the 11 existing stations and alignments to accommodate the new cars.

On Sept. 30, the streetcar announced a ridership record of 1,315,103 passenger trips in fiscal year 2023, the highest in the line's 20-year history.

Bus Rapid Transit Extension To Tampa

Tampa leaders are also hoping the Regional Infrastructure Accelerator will speed up a proposed extension of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority's SunRunner bus system, which debuted in 2022, circulating from St. Petersburg to St. Pete Beach.

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority has applied for $45 million in funding from the U.S. DOT to extend the SunRunner to the airport, downtown Tampa, north to USF and possibly into Wesley Chapel in Pasco County.

A first-of-its-kind in Tampa Bay, the SunRunner uses dedicated bus and turn lanes for its hybrid electric vehicles, avoiding the traffic on existing roads, enabling faster trips.

A 15.6-mile trip Bus Rapid Transit system between downtown Tampa to USF would cut the usual one-hour travel time in half.

But that time savings comes with a hefty price tag.

A study by transit officials estimates it would cost $50 million to construct a Bus Rapid Transit in Hillsborough County, and even more to connect the system to Pinellas County's SunRunner.

However, the Florida Department of Transportation is anticipating the possibility, including a dedicated bus lane in the ongoing reconstruction of the Howard Frankland Bridge linking Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

Hillsborough County has filed an application with the U.S. DOT for $45 million to help pay for the project.

Dedicated Airport Transit

HART is also studying the possibility of developing an east-west Metro Rapid corridor between Tampa International Airport and the Westshore Business District, downtown Tampa and Temple Terrace.

The system would run on a dedicated 8.25-mile route using autonomous vehicles. That project is estimated to cost $800 million to build and $17 million a year to maintain and operate.

High-Speed Rail

With the official launch of the Brightline high-speed rail train from Miami to Orlando on Sept. 22, officials of the privately owned rail company are already talking about extending the rail line to Tampa.

"It’s a big part of our future, right? We love Tampa. Tampa’s the next big market for us. You connect Tampa to the rest of this system and suddenly 75 percent of the state is within close proximity to a Brightline train. We like that a lot," Brightline CEO Mike Reininger said at a news conference.

Last year, Brightline received a $15.9 million federal grant for preliminary designs for an Orlando to Tampa route. Tampa’s new Regional Infrastructure Accelerator office has already placed the high-speed rail connection on its priority list.

The rail line, which would include a station in Lakeland, would take three years to complete and would cost an estimated $1 billion. Brightline has already applied for a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration.

Reininger said the high-speed rail line is being built in phases with the connection to Tampa being the third and final phase.

The 85-mile rail extension between Orlando and Tampa, tentatively called the Sunshine Corridor, would follow along Interstate 4 state-owned right of way.

It's currently in the planning stages and under review by the Florida DOT but could conceivably become a reality by 2028.

The train would run at speeds of 125 mph between Tampa and Orlando. Depending on traffic, the current drive time from Orlando to Tampa is 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The high-speed rail could turn a trip from Tampa to Disney World into a 45-minute ride with no traffic jams.