PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- The federal government has turned down a $39 million request from Providence to help pay for a new streetcar system.
WPRI-TV reports the city learned on Thursday it didn't get the money from an economic stimulus program through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
City officials have been exploring building a new streetcar system for years. Mayor Angel Taveras in 2011 proposed a two-mile system with 11 stops that would run from College Hill near Brown University to near Rhode Island Hospital.
The project would cost more than $100 million. The city has said it would pay for the rest of the project through city and state bonds and additional federal money.
City Council President Michael Solomon tells WPRI that it's unfortunate but he will continue to fight for it.