The Transbay Transit Center and an accelerated L.A. plan to build out transit are in the spotlight as models for building and repairing transit infrastructure across the country. According to the Chron, the Obama administration's just about the hit the wall on its ability to rain money on "shovel-ready" projects — instead, it could use federal loans backed by local tax revenue to fund major works. Amazingly, the idea's garnered "rare bipartisan interest," with one senator calling the Transbay Transit Center a "Grand Central" and yet also "the first transit center of its kind." The feds just recently granted a $171 million loan to the center for ramps, train box design, and things like that. Down in L.A., voters have already produced a half-cent sales tax increase on themselves in order to build out 12 new transit lines. Their mayor, wanting to leverage lower costs and to get more transit out faster, wants the timetable for those lines shrunken to 10 years from 30. Senator Boxer's on board, saying "it makes a lot of sense," but they'll have to "leverage, leverage, leverage local, state, regional and private money."
· State transit projects may be U.S. models [SFGate]
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