Dallas Area Rapid Transit officials say their plans for the anticipated Silver Line are uncertain if state lawmakers pass legislation to reduce the agency’s funding.
On Tuesday, DART board members heard from the agency’s staff about the Silver Line’s progress with a potential start up date “towards the end of the year.”
Trey Walker, DART’s vice president of capital design and construction, told the board construction for the line’s stations are 91% complete.
“Most of the work now focuses on pedestrian connections and parking lot construction, and that's generally the typical condition in our stations right now,” Walker said.
The new line will run through six cities in the DART service area from east Plano to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
But board members have concerns over funding for the line if the agency has to cut its budget because of legislation in Austin. Two identical bills — House Bill 3187 and Senate Bill 1557 — would reduce member cities' contributions to the transportation authority by 25%.
Without enough funding, DART board chair Gary Slagel told city leaders in Dallas, the agency may only be able to operate the Silver Line for “a month and a half.”
DART CEO Nadine Lee said Tuesday the agency is still evaluating what might happen in terms of service if funding is impacted.
“This significant investment that we've made in the Silver Line, it does also include some federal funding in the form of a brief loan,” Lee said. “There are some requirements that we have to uphold... in this case we have to pay back our loan.”
Board member Rodney Schlosser, who represents Dallas, asked staff if they can produce a report on operating and capital costs and debt service associated with the Silver Line. That would include the economic impact on the cities the line will run through.
“I want to know what details that we could save money on now by delaying, if necessary, opening of operation, testing, et cetera, until we find out what's going to happen in Austin without jeopardizing or federal funds,” said Mark Enoch, who represents Garland, Glenn Heights and Rowlett.
Staff assured the board that they’ll provide an update to the board at a meeting on Friday.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org. You can follow him on X @pabloaarauz.
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