Detroit Light Rail Gets Final Approval, Names Board Members And CFO

The Federal Transit Administration has given the environmental clearance for Detroit's $137 million M-1 Woodward Avenue Streetcar, as the nonprofit group Monday named eight new directors and a chief financial officer, David Shepardson reports in the Detroit News.

The FTA's clearance allows the 3.3-mile, fixed-rail streetcar system to move to the next phases of design, right-of-way acquisition and construction. This is the last approval step under the National Environmental Policy Act process, said Matthew Cullen, M-1 Rail president and CEO.

The project is scheduled to begin operations in late 2015 and operate in mixed traffic in downtown Detroit. The group plans to build 11 stations and develop the 12th one in the future.