LinkUS West Broad Street BRT Passes Federal FTA Risk Review as Columbus Deploys $175M Housing Land Fund

COTA LinkUS West Broad Street BRT Clears Federal Transit Administration Risk Assessment

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Accelerating the Midwest’s most comprehensive transit and urban growth initiative, the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) announced that the LinkUS West Broad Street Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor successfully passed the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Capital Investment Grant Risk Assessment in October 2026. The approval marks a vital prerequisite for finalizing a multi-million-dollar federal construction funding agreement.

Engineering designs for the West Broad Street line stand at 90 percent completion, featuring dedicated center-running transit lanes, off-board fare collection, and transit signal priority connecting downtown Columbus with Prairie Township. Simultaneously, designs for the East Main Street BRT approach 90 percent, while infrastructure design firm GFT commenced work on the Northwest BRT corridor linking downtown with Dublin and Ohio State University.

Mayor Andrew Ginther Directs $175M Toward Transit-Oriented Housing Land Acquisition

At Columbus City Hall, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther and the Columbus City Council unveiled the operational deployment framework for the voter-approved $500 million affordable housing bond. Demonstrating deep integration between transportation and housing policy, the administration dedicated $175 million of the bond specifically for strategic land acquisition along LinkUS transit corridors to catalyze high-density, mixed-income housing developments.

The remaining bond proceeds allocate $150 million for constructing and preserving affordable rental and homeownership properties, $125 million for shelter stabilization and low-income senior home repairs, and $50 million for innovative modular building technologies. Mayor Ginther affirmed that building workforce housing directly along rapid transit lines ensures regional economic mobility as Central Ohio's population approaches three million.

LinkUS Launches 75 Pedestrian Capital Projects with Hoover Road Bridge Construction

Highlighting neighborhood connectivity, civil contractors broke ground on the Hoover Road Pedestrian Bridge in Grove City, representing the very first LinkUS-funded active transportation capital project. The bridge is part of a dedicated five-year infrastructure plan financing 75 sidewalk, protected bike lane, and multi-use trail developments through 2031 to link residential neighborhoods safely to COTA transit stations.