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The Federal Transit Administration has given the green light for the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project to enter the final design phase, TriMet announced on Tuesday.

Final design will allow the project to be developed to 100 percent, up from its current 30 percent design, and this stage will last about one year. The federal approval will mean that the project stays on schedule, said TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane.

The Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project is a 7.3-mile, $1.49 million project slated to open in September 2015. Limited construction on the project’s light-rail bridge is scheduled to begin July 1. This early construction work is allowed to take advantage of the relatively small 鈥渇ish window,鈥� where in-water work can be done with limited impact to migrating fish.

The project is expected to move into full construction in mid 2012, after TriMet signs a Full Funding Agreement with the federal government. The federal government will commit to funding 50 percent of the project.