Seattle City Wire

Seattle’s 56th mayor is praising the Federal Transit Administration’s allocation of $59.9 million to the City of Seattle Department of Transportation for the Madison Street Bus Rapid Transit infrastructure project.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, who, according to her Facebook page, is the first woman to lead Seattle in almost 100 years, said in a press release that federal support is “critical” in Seattle’s goal to build “the best transit and transportation infrastructure in the country.”

“Thank you @FTA_DOT @PattyMurray @SecretaryPete & more for partnering to support our vision of faster, more frequent and safer transit in Seattle! The Madison BRT line will help connect our city in a way that is sustainable, effective and affordable,” Durkan said on Twitter.

Scheduled to be operational in 2024, the Madison Bus Rapid Transit-RapidRide G Line is a 2.3-mile, east-west Bus Rapid Transit line, a Federal Transit Administration press release said. Diesel-electric buses would operate along Madison Street “from downtown Seattle in the west to the Madison Valley neighborhood in the east, with connections in First Hill, Capitol Hill and the Central Area.” 

“It will connect people to hospitals, schools, businesses and other destinations, as well as to dozens of bus routes, the First Hill Streetcar, and ferry service at the Colman Dock Ferry Terminal,” the FTA press release said.

While bus service on Madison Street will be operated by King County Metro Transit as the RapidRide G Line, the Madison BRT project will increase ridership to over 12,000 riders daily, according to project supporter U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington). 

“Thanks to an almost $60M allocation from the U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Small Starts Program, your #LevyToMoveSeattle tax dollars & Sound Transit, we are excited to begin construction this year on the Madison BRT-RapidRide G Line project if all goes to plan!” the Seattle Department of Transportation wrote on Facebook.