A planned 1.6-mile, $2 billion elevated rail line connecting downtown Inglewood with the emerging sports and entertainment center around SoFi Stadium and with the countywide rail network has garnered a key rating that’s expected to ease the way for $1.2 billion in federal funds.

The Inglewood Transit Connector project has received a positive rating from the Federal Transit Administration, according to a city announcement on Oct. 31. The achievement makes the project officially eligible for funding from the agency’s Capital Investment Grants  Program and moves it a step closer to receiving full funding.

“We thank the FTA for advancing the ITC Project as it will not only enhance access to our housing, commercial and world-class sports and entertainment centers, it will provide access to good job opportunities and will lift up Inglewood, the South Bay, and the entire region,” James Butts, Inglewood’s mayor, said in the city’s announcement.

The federal funding grant is now expected within the next few months with the award of the main construction contract anticipated in the second half of next year. Groundbreaking would be months beyond that, with a target project completion date of the first half of 2028, in time for that year’s Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Last year, city officials released a short list of three contractor teams eligible to bid on the project. Sylmar-based civil construction company Tutor Perini Corp. – which is already working on several transit projects throughout the region, including an extension of the Metro D (Purple) Line through Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood – is the lead contractor for one of the teams and the only prominent local firm in the running.

The transit connector project consists of a 1.6-mile elevated guideway running mostly north-to-south, connecting to the K-Line at the Downtown Inglewood station on the north end. The route will have three new stations:  Market Street/Florence Avenue in downtown Inglewood; Prairie Avenue/Manchester Boulevard near the Kia Forum, the Intuit Dome and Hollywood Park sports/entertainment center; and Prairie Avenue/Hardy Street across from SoFi Stadium/Hollywood Park.

As with most major rail projects, the cost to build the transit connector has increased substantially, from about $1.15 billion four years ago to the current cost estimate of $2 billion, thanks in large part to rising materials and construction costs.

Assuming this federal funding comes through, a funding gap of about $157 million would remain, for which the city has filed an application for funding from another federal transportation program.