We can haz new subways

Atrios sez No We Can't:

It is a bit weird that in the supposed richest country in the world even contemplating things like new subway lines is practically unpossible.

And yet:

Central Subway given feds' green light

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. …

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.

Service on the T line started in January of 2007, and this will extend the line from the ballpark past the main convention center, to a high-end retail area and on to the famous Chinatown.