DART receives $78.4 million in federal funds for Green Line

From: Fort Worth Star Telegram
By: Gordon Dickson / August 13, 2009

Dallas Area Rapid Transit received $78.4 million in federal stimulus funds to speed up construction of the Green Line, a light-rail corridor from Carrollton-Farmer’s Branch to Pleasant Grove in south Dallas, officials said.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the award Thursday. It is part of an effort to infuse $48.1 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding into roads, rails, buses, bridges and airports nationwide.

A portion of the DART Green Line is scheduled to open Sept. 14. As a result, Tarrant County residents may find it much easier to ride the Trinity Railway Express and DART light rail to the State Fair of Texas.

The $78.4 million awarded to DART is essentially an advance of federal grant reimbursements the agency was scheduled to get in 2013, DART spokesman Morgan Lyons said. It’s part of a previously announced, $700 million long-term commitment the Federal Transit Administration has made to the DART project.

"By getting the money now, we can shift funds and do other things more quickly," Lyons said. "It’s very good news."

DART was awarded $61 million in federal funds this year for the Orange Line, which is expected to connect to the north end of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport by 2013. The Orange Line is scheduled to be joined by a proposed commuter rail line operated by the Fort Worth Transportation Authority from Grapevine to Fort Worth.