Louisville light rail project quashed

After 10 years of talks and nearly $10 million in environmental studies, the $661 million Louisville, Ky., light rail project is effectively dead, according to reports from the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Barry Barker, executive director of the Transit Authority of River City, told a group of 70 light rail supporters Wednesday that lack of political will and a funding shortage contributed to the downfall of the project.

Said Barker, “[The project] will be packaged and preserved for sometime in the future when the economy turns around." Environmental and preliminary engineering studies will cease this summer, he added.

Mayor Jerry Abramson told reporters that although he was disappointed, "it's time for a reality check." Current state and local budget shortfalls and the Bush administration's preference of bus rapid transit over light rail made for bad timing for the project, he said.