Detroit is expected this week to win a $25 million federal grant for a long-planned light-rail project along one of the city's main corridors.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, in Detroit Monday for the North American International Auto Show, said he would make a "very significant" announcement Friday while at Wayne State University with Gov. Rick Snyder.
LaHood's announcement comes about a month after the Legislature approved a regional transit authority for the Detroit metro area, a move that LaHood said last year he wanted to see before investing federal funding into the light-rail project.
"In a tough economy, people need to have a lot of different forms of transportation," LaHood told local reporters. "This means the Detroit region will be like the rest of America - have a regional transportation program."
The 3.3-mile project relies largely on private money, though the Detroit Downtown Development Authority has contributed $9 million to the roughly $100 million project.
