The capital plan and the commitment of capital plan areas received a medium-high rating. In the areas of completeness of operating plan and the commitment of operating funds the project was rated as medium-high and high, respectively.

The North Corridor, which will extend Metrorail 9.5 miles from the existing Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza Metrorail station along NW 27th Avenue to the Broward County line and is projected for completion in 2012 if a funding commitment from the federal government is obtained, is part of the proposed Orange Line Metrorail expansion project. The Orange Line includes a 2.4-mile extension from the existing Earlington Heights Metrorail station to the Miami Intermodal Center (adjacent to Miami International Airport), and the 10.1-mile East-West Corridor from the Miami Intermodal Center along State Road 836 to Florida International University’s South Campus.

“This is great news for Miami-Dade County,” said County Manager George Burgess. “Thanks in large part to the steadfast support of our Mayor, Chairman Martinez and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, the Florida Legislature and our entire South Florida Congressional delegation, our plans for a first-class Metrorail system for the 21st Century are now one very big step closer to reality.”

Last year, Congress appropriated an initial $10 million for the North and East-West Corridor projects in an early show of support.  And both projects benefited from the “local credit match” language which permitted the $100 million dollars received from FDOT for the Earlington Heights-Miami Intermodal Center project to be credited as the local match for both the North and East-West Corridors. This represents a $100 million dollar savings to the People’s Transportation Plan surtax funds.

The East-West Corridor project is also progressing favorably. Late last year, the FTA granted permission for Miami-Dade County to benefit from FDOT’s previous environmental studies of the East-West Corridor, thereby saving the County time and money.

Meanwhile, attempts are being made to advance the Earlington Heights-Miami Intermodal Connector project to begin revenue service in late 2009 instead of late 2010, which is not only one year ahead of the previous schedule, but six years ahead of the anticipated schedule at the time the voters approved the half-penny surtax.