Political issues can play a role in project success. For example, the Hiawatha Corridor project sought and received state funding in two installments under two administrations, the first in 1998 and the second in 1999. During the interval, the project team worked to ensure that political leaders in Minnesota fully understood the justification for the project before it approached the Federal government for a FFGA. It took until the final hours of a 5-month legislative session in 1999 to reach a final agreement.