The Orange County Transportation Authority board on Monday approved a plan for a $250 million Santa Ana-to-Garden Grove streetcar project that puts most of the responsibility for financing and construction on the county agency.
The roughly four-mile streetcar route starts at the train station in Santa Ana, passes through downtown and government buildings and ends at Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove, a new transit hub.
OCTA will handle the design and construction as well as maintenance and ownership of the system. The agency will also acquire all of the right-of-way property needed for the project.
Santa Ana city officials will help OCTA in public outreach efforts.
The line will include up to seven streetcars and a dozen stations. OCTA officials estimate it will provide service to about 6,000 riders daily by 2035.
Later this year, the design work will begin. Construction is slated to start in 2017, with hopes of getting it running by 2019.
In May, OCTA officials were notified the agency had qualified for federal grants that could cover half the costs in the initial phase.
— City News Service