Milwaukee streetcar expansion to Fiserv Forum stalled by failing to win federal grant
The Hop will not be making a Fiserv Forum stop anytime soon.
Milwaukee failed in a second attempt to secure federal funding to extend the streetcar system.
The city was looking to the federal government to cover half the cost of the $40 million extension from Milwaukee Intermodal Station to Fiserv Forum. But Milwaukee wasn't among the winning bidders in a U.S. Department of Transportation grant program that was announced this week.
The Milwaukee Business Journal first reported on the bid's failure Thursday.
City officials had hoped to have the line running by 2020 in the event Milwaukee was awarded the Democratic National Convention. Milwaukee, Miami Beach and Houston are the three finalists to host the event.
City officials remained confident about the long-term prospects of the streetcar and they will continue to apply for federal grants.
"My reaction to that is I've seen this before — and I don't mean this in a sarcastic way. When we did the lakefront expansion, it took us several swings of the bat," Mayor Tom Barrett said Thursday. "So we will continue to seek those dollars.
"There will be another round after this and we will continue to seek those federal dollars."
Since its opening in early November, the $124 million streetcar's ridership has exceeded projections. Rides are free for the first year under a 12-year, $10 million sponsorship by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.
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The streetcar runs on a 2.1-mile downtown loop. Service to the lakefront is expected to open in 2020.
“We’re certainly disappointed that The Hop was not awarded a BUILD grant, but with the initial success of the system we remain very optimistic about the future of the project and the prospects for expansion," Milwaukee Public Works Commissioner Jeff Polenske said in a statement. "We’re continuing to move forward with our preliminary engineering and utility coordination activities for the extension towards Bronzeville and will continue seeking out additional funding sources to move the project forward.”
Milwaukee's proposal was among 851 received by the federal government for the BUILD transportation grants program. In all, $1.5 billion in funding went to 91 projects in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
Wisconsin received $19.8 million to create an interchange along state Highway 29 in Brown County.