DART Board Splits with Dallas Council on Subway Priority

Julie Fancher reports: " A sea of yellow and green — supporters of the Cotton Belt rail line in yellow and downtown subway in green — filled the Dallas Area Rapid Transit board meeting Tuesday night as officials finally voted on their 20-year financial plan that had left many wondering which long-term project the board would support."

The DART Board "voted 12-3 to fund both the Cotton Belt rail line and the subway version of a second downtown light rail, known as the D2 subway, as part of their 2017 20-year financial plan."

"DART officials expect to complete the projects in the next six years. Both projects would cost more than $1 billion each," adds Fancher.

The decision to fund both projects reverse course slightly from a decision earlier in the month by the Dallas City Council to prioritize the subway. By supporting the plan to fund and build both projects, however, the subway proposal will now depend on $650 million in federal grant money that has not yet been secured.