CHESTERTON - The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District is the recipient of an advance grant for its Double Track project.
Michael Noland, President of the South Shore line, says the Federal Transit Authority notified him on Wednesday.
"Really excited, I got a call first this morning from FTA administrator Jane Williams in Washington letting us know that we're the recipient of an advance grant of $50.6 million dollars," Noland said.
He says the large allocation of money signifies the passage of a major milestone in the project that is already underway, and set to be completed by the summer of 2023.
"This preliminary grant from the FTA is such a vote of confidence from them, from the administration," Noland says. "It's their way of saying that they believe that this project is going to be funded. We still have some work to do to get to a full funding grant agreement, but they're that confident in the project and in the status of the project that they're willing to allocate such a large amount of money towards its ultimate goal of completion."
With the grant, Noland says the FTA is committing to funding 38 percent of the project.
He says NICTD works very closely with the FTA and the organization has a through understanding of the South Shore's goals.
