The proposed Central Subway project that calls for running light-rail service into San Francisco’s Chinatown has received federal environmental clearance, city officials said Tuesday. On the same day, the Municipal Railway’s governing board approved a $147 million-plus contract for program and construction management of the project.

“These developments are significant milestones for a project that is crucial to the future of transportation in San Francisco,” said Municipal Transportation Agency chief Nathaniel Ford.

The $1.3 billion Central Subway, which would extend the new T-Third line from the South of Market into Chinatown, must still secure federal funding. City officials hope to start construction on the 1.7-mile rail project in 2010 and open for service six years later. Planners envision a surface boarding platform at Fourth and Brannan streets and subway stations serving Moscone Center, Union Square and Chinatown.

The project management contract was awarded to Central Subways Partners, a joint venture of AECOM USA Inc. and EPC Consultants, and is not to exceed $147,375,171. The Board of Supervisors must still sign off on the agreement.

Central Subway given feds green light

For more about the Central Subway, see the SFMTA’s Central Subway Overview page: http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mcentral/centralover.htm