Feds Help Fund New Streetcar Line in Detroit

$140 million for 3.3-mile track

At an open house for subcontractors and others needed to help build a 3.3-mile streetcar down Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Lawrence Stevenson said he considered being involved in the project as something that would be "historic."

But he will only be a part of that history if his company, Detroit-based Stevenson Construction, can successfully land a contract for a portion of the work the M1 Rail line.

"It's always going to be competitive, that's what the bidding process is all about," Stevenson said. "But it basically comes down to how your business is structured, and your relationships. If you got a good business structure and all the equipment, and a history of doing this kind of work, that keeps you a frontrunner."