The OC Streetcar planned for Santa Ana and Garden Grove received another boost on Monday, May 1, when it was announced the congressional funding package included $50 million for the project.

Orange County Transportation Authority officials consider the streetcar’s inclusion in the package, expected to be signed by President Donald Trump, a strong indicator of federal support.

“We’re thrilled to see the federal government continue to join us at the local level in recognizing what a strong transportation project this is,” OCTA board member and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido said in a statement. “This project returns our federal tax dollars to Orange County, leading to additional jobs and increased economic development.”

The $50 million comes from the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program and will go toward the $148 million OCTA is requesting in its full-funding agreement, transportation authority spokesman Joel Zlotnik said. If the OC Streetcar is awarded the full-funding grant agreement, about half of the approximately $289 million project could be covered.

“It’s a pretty big deal and shows another strong commitment from FTA and Congress to the project,” Zlotnik said.

The streetcar, in the design and engineering phase, will run a 4.1-mile route from the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center through downtown Santa Ana and the Civic Center to a new multimodal transit hub at Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove.

Construction is slated to begin in 2018, for service starting in 2020.

The streetcar has been awarded funding in the past. President Barack Obama included $125 million for it in his 2016-17 fiscal year budget and it received $25.5 million in state cap-and-trade funds awarded in August.

Other funding sources include money from the state and Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements.