President Obama earmarked $174M in federal money to help two Dallas-area rail projects, which could help ease north Texas traffic congestion. Additionally, a second light rail line in downtown Dallas has inched closer to qualifying for federal funds.
POTUS wants to direct $125M to the TEX rail project that will connect downtown Fort Worth to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal B, according to the Dallas Morning News. That project will cost $1B.
The proposed federal budget would also give $49M to Dallas Area Rapid Transit for its $118M platform extension project, which would allow longer trains to run through the light-rail network.
Overall, Obama is asking for nearly $20B to be spent on federal transit projects for the budget year that begins on Oct. 1, a 68% increase over what Congress approved for this year.
In addition, the US DOT has bumped DART’s planned second downtown line closer to receiving federal funds, but first DART must finalize plans for the project, and submit an environmental impact study.
The state also recently approved new funds to help ease traffic in Dallas, Austin and Houston, including rail improvements. [DMN]
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