COTA LinkUS West Broad BRT Clears FTA Federal Risk Assessment as Hoover Road Pedestrian Bridge Advances

West Broad Street BRT Passes Critical Federal Risk Review at 90% Design

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Achieving a major breakthrough toward securing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching funds, the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) announced in October 2026 that the West Broad Street Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor officially cleared the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grant Risk Assessment. With engineering designs reaching 90 percent completion, the project has met the rigorous technical criteria required to enter final grant agreement negotiations.

The corridor forms the flagship artery of the regional $8 billion LinkUS mobility initiative, backed by Central Ohio voters. Designed with dedicated center-running bus lanes, level-boarding heated stations, and transit signal priority, the West Broad BRT will provide reliable, rapid transit linking downtown Columbus to Westland, bypassing congested surface arterial traffic.

Hoover Road Pedestrian Bridge Anchors 83 Active Transportation Projects

Demonstrating LinkUS investments beyond rapid bus routes, civil engineering contractors in Grove City progressed structural foundations for the Hoover Road Pedestrian Bridge. The project represents the inaugural completion within a portfolio of 83 Transit-Supportive Infrastructure (TSI) investments funded through dedicated transit sales tax revenues, constructing protected bike paths, ADA sidewalks, and multi-use greenways across Franklin County.

COTA and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) noted that linking neighborhood trailways directly into high-frequency bus corridors provides seamless first-and-last-mile connectivity for commuters throughout the metropolitan region.

Transit-Oriented Development Overlays Prepare for 3.15 Million Population

At Columbus City Hall, municipal planners advanced Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zoning frameworks along the West Broad and East Main corridors, incentivizing dense, mixed-use multifamily housing within a 5-to-10-minute walk of future transit stations. With regional projections forecasting Central Ohio's population to reach 3.15 million by 2050, city leaders affirmed that synchronizing rapid transit with attainable housing ensures equitable, long-term economic prosperity.