The US has awarded a $928.8m grant for the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The US Federal Transit Administration (FTA) signed the grant agreement with the Metropolitan Council in Minnesota.
The Southwest Light Rail Transit Project involves extending the existing Green Line from downtown Minneapolis to the southwestern suburbs to enable rapid transportation in the fast-growing region.
FTA deputy administrator K Jane Williams said: “FTA is proud to join our partners in Minnesota to improve public transportation and support economic recovery in the Twin Cities.
“Commuters in this busy corridor can now look forward to faster and more efficient transit service connecting them to major employers downtown and in the suburbs as well as other key transit lines.”
Once complete, the 14.5-mile extension will feature 16 stations from the existing Target Field light rail station in downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie in Hennepin County.
The line will pass through suburban municipalities of Minnetonka, Hopkins and St. Louis Park.
Overall, the project is estimated to cost around $2bn.
The federal funding was provided through the FTA’s CIG programme, which supports major transit infrastructure projects across the US.
With this announcement, FTA has advanced funding for 40 new CIG projects since 2017 under the current administration.
FTA recently announced a $1.2bn grant agreement with the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) for the Transbay Corridor Core Capacity project in San Francisco, California.
The project was devised to bolster the capacity of the existing BART heavy rail system.