At long last, the train has left the station for the construction of the Austin light rail project.

The Austin Transit Partnership Board of Directors voted Feb. 18 to approve a $60M contract for what will eventually be a proposed $7.1B light rail in Austin. The preliminary design and construction contract was awarded to Austin Rail Constructors, a joint venture of Arizona-based Sundt Construction Inc. and California-based Stacy Witbeck Inc.

The other shortlisted bidders for the contract were a Texas-based subsidiary of Kiewit Corp. and a domestic subsidiary of Spain-based FCC Group.

This contract was the first of three to be approved this year. The two remaining contracts likely will be awarded in Q2, the Austin Business Journal reports. Those contracts cover the construction of the light rail’s operations and management facility near the intersection of Highway 183 and Highway 71 and the design and construction of the train cars.

Construction on the 9.8-mile light rail route is slated to begin next year and complete in 2033. The project, first approved by voters in 2020 as part of a mass transit program called Project Connect, was long delayed and only received environmental clearance in January. The vote to award the contract was met with a round of applause.

The rail line was originally planned to be underground and span 31 stops. Now, it will be above ground and feature 15 stops.

Some Austin business owners who voted in favor of the tunnel build-out have opposed the revised plan for the above-ground line, saying the yearslong construction process will bring disruption to the area.

Additionally, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed legal challenges in court questioning the ATP's authority, and some Texas state legislators have proposed repealing the taxation mechanism the city is using to fund the project.