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The Metro council yesterday brought the Portland-Milwaukie light-rail project one step closer to realization.

The council unanimously approved a $27.4 million federal bond – issued to the regional government through a federal flexible funds program – that will help fill the project’s $137 million shortfall.

The 7.3-mile line that will run from downtown Portland to south Milwaukie first came under budget constraints when the Federal Transit Administration approved funding for only half the project’s $1.5 billion overall cost. TriMet officials had expected to receive 60 percent of the money it needed for the project.

With the new bond, a previous bond Metro had approved and a proposed increased contribution by the city of Portland, the project shortfall would be cut to about $35 million.

In addition to the council, the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation, made up of transportation professionals from around the region, unanimously supported the bond as well.

The bond received support even with some of the members, and the areas they represent, not directly affected by the project at all, said Metro Councilor Kathryn Harrington.

“Elected officials in northern Washington County understand the importance of a vibrant and vital regional public transit system,” she said.

The council also approved bonds out of the same flexible funds to go towards two other regional projects. This includes $6 million for planning mass transit between Portland and Lake Oswego and an additional $6 million for planning along the Oregon 99W/Barbur Boulevard Corridor.