The Columbia Pike streetcar project will not receive federal funding, it was revealed Friday.
The $250 million project did not make the Federal Transit Authority's (FTA) so-called Small Starts funding list. Arlington County officials said that they had hoped to receive up to $75 million for the project, according to the Washington Post.
The proposed streetcar line would run from the Skyline area of Fairfax County along Columbia Pike to Pentagon City, where it is expected to connect to Metro.
Arlington County had hoped to pay $104 million toward the line's construction by using a commercial and industrial real estate tax that can only be used for transportation. Another $35 million would have come from Fairfax County, and $35 million more would have come from state funds, with the federal funding covering the remainder.
Despite the setback, Arlington County Board chairman J. Walter Tejada told the Post, "We are methodically executing a plan that has been developed over the years with much community input ... We will not give up."
Photo Credit: Sean Casey