CLEVELAND, Ohio - The federal government is giving the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority two final weeks to reopen Public Square to buses.

The Federal Transit Administration will give RTA until March 7 to allow buses on Superior Avenue through the square before it will enforce a $12-million fee.

In a Feb. 17 letter to RTA CEO Joe Calabrese, Robert Tuccillo, associate administrator for budget and policy for the FTA, writes, "The FTA will grant a final extension of 14 days, to March 7, 2017, for GCRTA to provide a written response to FTA's Dec. 20, 2016 debt letter, or the debt will be considered delinquent and trigger debt collection actions. The FTA looks forward to bringing this matter to a close soon."

The FTA originally gave RTA until Jan. 19 to reopen Public Square to buses, but granted a 30-day extension until Feb. 21.

Calabrese on Feb. 16 requested an extension beyond the Feb. 21 deadline so that RTA could implement "safety and traffic control physical changes that may need to be made if Public Square is to be opened."

The city of Cleveland and RTA are reviewing the traffic and safety studies that have been completed on the square and need more time to put into place safety and security measures that address concerns outlined in the studies, Calabrese explained.

In his letter, the FTA's Tuccillo said the original extension was granted "to allow the FTA and GCRTA to discuss the basis for FTA's calculation of debt."

During a Feb. 9 meeting of the two parties, the FTA explained that it could have forced RTA to repay $142.8 million in grants over the closing of Superior Avenue through Public Square. That would have been the full amount of a 2004 funding deal RTA made with the Federal Transit Administration for the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project.

Tuccillo's Feb. 17 letter warns, "Please be advised that the FTA will not grant any additional requests for an extension."

What's been happening

Public Square has been closed to buses since early 2015 while the square was under renovation. However, it was scheduled to reopen Aug. 1, 2016.

At that time, Mayor Frank Jackson chose to ban buses in favor of a unified Public Square. Jackson has said he would reopen the square to bus traffic if there were no way to keep it closed without harming RTA's operations or bottom line, and if RTA addresses the city's safety concerns.

RTA is on the clock from the FTA to either reopen Superior Avenue through the square to buses or to repay $12 million in federal grants it received for the the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project.

Because the city will not permit buses to cross Public Square, RTA is not upholding its end of the funding deal it made for the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project, the FTA asserts. The Euclid Corridor Transportation Project established the HealthLine, which runs down Euclid Avenue and ends in Public Square.

Jackson has said RTA has not been acting in good faith about Public Square and, ultimately, has slowed down the process of reopening the square.