Austin's Project Connect has shrunk to less than half its proposed length — at a higher cost

Almost four years after Austin residents voted to increase city property taxes to fund a $7.1 billion light rail proposal, the project has been whittled down to just 10 miles of projected rail at a cost of $8.2 billion. Land acquisition costs nearly quadrupled as Austin land values rose rapidly and more properties along the line were needed than previously thought.

According to reporting by Joshua Fechter in The Texas Tribune, "The new plan no longer reaches Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and the number of stops was cut from 26 to 15." The per-mile cost has risen to three times more than the 2020 estimate, Fechter adds.

In 2024, some residents sued the city, saying that the project is no longer what they voted for. Another lawsuit will decide whether the city can use property taxes to fund transit at all. The project has also received none of the federal funding it was relying on. 

According to Fechter, "Officials and transit advocates say that even the smaller light rail plan is necessary to give people more options to move around the state’s fourth-largest urban area as it grows." Austin Transit Partnership intends to break ground on the project next year.