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Fed
Funds
Pending:
Mayor
Bing
ready to
start
light
rail
project
by fall
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) -
Mayor
Dave
Bing
turns
off the
darkness
in
Detroit
by
turning
the
Woodward
light
rail
project
on. The
annual
Downtown
Detroit
Partnership
luncheon,
held
today,
inside
of the
Renaissance
Center,
marked a
new
beginning
for the
Motor
City.
More
than 800
people
came out
to hear
the
latest
developments
concerning
the M1
transit
system.
Mayor
Bing is
very
optimistic
about
starting
construction
on the
project
and is
hoping
to be
“shovel
ready”
by the
last
quarter
of 2010.
The
light
rail
system
will
travel
up
Woodward,
making
stops at
Hart
Plaza,
the New
Center
and
eventually
8mile
road.
Funding
for this
project
came
from
many
sources;
however
the
Kresge
Foundation
is the
lead
sponsor
after
donating
35
million
dollars.
Quicken
Loans
Director,
Dan
Gilbert
committed
to
bringing”
1700
jobs
into the
city of
Detroit
by
placing
his
corporate
office
downtown
in the
Compuware
Building”.
Bing and
city
officials
have
been in
continuous
talks
with the
Federal
Transit
Administration
who have
made
visits
to
Detroit
to
assess
the
proposed
plans
for
light
rail
connecting
Hart
Plaza
with New
Center
and,
later, 8
Mile
Road.
The
mayor
stated,
"They're
very
committed
to
helping
us, not
only
with the
financing
of the
light-rail
system
going up
Woodward
Avenue,
but also
really
getting
involved
in terms
of the
design"
of the
project."
"I'm
hopeful
that by
the end
of this
year,
sometime
in the
last
quarter
of this
year, we
will be
shovel-ready"
and
construction
activity
could
start",
the
mayor
concluded.
Wayne
County
Executive,
Mike
Ficano,
and
Chairman
of the
DDP,
Roger
Penske
were
also in
attendance
at the
luncheon
and are
both in
agreement
with the
plans
that are
underway
for the
city of
Detroit’s
transit
system.
Mayor
Bing was
voted in
to
office
in 2009
and will
be
participating
in his
first
state of
the city
address
on March
23,
2010.
For more
information
on the
light
rail
transit
project
please
log on
to www.
m1-rail.com
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