Greater Cleveland RTA gets $16 million for Blue Line from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

WASHINGTON, D. C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority $16 million that it will use to rehabilitate eight stations to make the entire Blue Line accessible for people with disabilities.

The Transportation Department’s Tuesday announcement said station upgrades will include replacing the 40-year-old platforms with new concrete platforms with tactile warning panels, installing redesigned ramps, elevating a platform section to access trains, and improving parking stalls with curb ramps to access the stations.

It was among eight public transit systems around the country that got $343 million in federal money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make rail stations more accessible and in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards by installing elevators, renovating platforms for level boarding, improving signage, and enhancing visual and audio systems. The transportation department said it got nearly $1.1 billion in funding requests for the $343 million available this year.

“We are not only modernizing our nation’s infrastructure, we are doing so in a way that makes it more accessible for older Americans, people with disabilities, and all transit users,” said a statement Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, a Warrensville Heights Democrat, said she submitted a letter of support on behalf of the project in January.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver for Northeast Ohio,” said a statement from Brown. “Public transit is an essential service, and that service needs to be accessible for all. Congratulations and thank you to GCRTA for its commitment to increasing accessibility on the Blue Line.”

Sabrina Eaton writes about the federal government and politics in Washington, D.C., for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.