In March 1986, the federal government offered Metro a contract committing $195 million in UMTA funding toward the bus tunnel, requiring that a decision on whether to move forward with the project be made by December 31. A month later, the King County Council asked Metro to consider delaying construction of the bus tunnel while waiting for assurance on federal funding being able to cover half of the $395 million cost of the project; the council was scheduled to begin awarding contracts for utility relocation along 3rd Avenue and Pine Street in preparation for tunnel construction. On May 15, the Reagan administration signed a contract with Metro to commit $197 million of the $395 million required for the bus tunnel project, assuming re-authorization of a mass transit grant program by Congress, while also extending the deadline for a final decision to September 1987. Hours later, the Metro Council awarded the first construction contract for utility relocation, with construction set to begin in July. The Metro Council accepted the UMTA contract during their June 5 meeting, allowing for bidding on tunnel construction to begin. The tunnel construction contract was awarded to the joint venture of Guy F. Atkinson Construction and Dillingham Construction in late September for $44.16 million, beating seven competing bids with an estimate far lower than the approximately $61 million predicted by Metro engineers. The contract for the dual-mode trolleybuses was awarded by the Metro Council to Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie in October, consisting of an order for 236 buses at a cost of $133 million (equivalent to $ million in dollars); it was approved by UMTA in November.