Dallas Subway Project Gets a Key Green Light

"The Dallas City Council Wednesday unanimously approved to continue [sic] with the building of a second light rail alignment going through downtown Dallas, also known as D2," reports Jake Harris.

"The city council also said it would support DART in obtaining a Federal Transit Authority (FTA) grant to help fund the project. Right now, the cost estimate for the subway and light rails is $1.7 billion, with up to 50% of that number able to be funded with a federal grant," adds Harris.

The D2 project has been in the works in Dallas since 2007, and a key part of Dallas Area Rapid Transit's capital investment plans since 2017. "The planned route would include three subway stations and two above-ground stations from Victory Park to Deep Ellum, with service on the green and orange lines."

A separate article by Matt Goodman, written just before the council vote, details more of what the city would be gaining with the addition of a subway. "The subway would double capacity while giving the light rail system a relief valve in the event of a derailment or some other disruption, as the current system bottlenecks on the single rail line through downtown," according to Goodman.

Goodman also details more of the financial challenges facing the project. "DART will need $1.7 billion total, and the feds will pay for only half of it, which means it has to spend a lot of money to get those federal dollars." The decision to build the route as a subway doubled the cost of the project.

With City Council approval, the project could start construction as soon as 2022, and could open to the public in 2028.