A plan to build a light-rail system along one of Detroit's thoroughfares advanced with the passage of the federal government's 2010 omnibus spending bill.
The spending plan includes a provision that allows Detroit to use $125 million in private donations as local matching funds for federal dollars.
Washington agreed to finance 60% of the $425 million project. Detroit will finance the rest using a mix of private and public money. Under the current plan, a group of private citizens will finance the first leg of the rail system, a 3.4-mile stretch along Woodward Avenue.
