Light rail system for Chattanooga? City Council set to approve study

Chattanooga is moving one step closer to building on its choo-choo heritage.

The City Council has been asked to approve a contract with a Massachusetts-based consulting agency, Cambridge Systematics, to study the feasibility of the city building a light rail, using much of the already existing railroad tracks.

Officials are set to vote next week on whether to funnel $290,000 for the study for a total contract of $690,000, using $400,000 from a federal grant.

If approved, Cambridge Systematics will study possible routes for the light rail as well as whether there is enough interest from the public to justify the project that is projected to cost $35 million.

When the idea was revealed last May, city officials proposed that the first phase of the light rail would stretch from the Chattanooga Choo Choo all the way up to Glass Street, an area local nonprofits have targeted for urban renewal.

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