North Texas leaders approved $1.6 million in additional funding Thursday to help study a proposed high-speed rail route that would run west of downtown Dallas to Arlington and Fort Worth.
The funding approved by the Regional Transportation Council, an independent policy group of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, significantly increases the $12 million budget to study environmental impacts as the agency seeks federal approval for the transit project, which would connect Houston with Fort Worth-Dallas. The funding would come from the federal Surface Transportation Block Grant Program.
“We believe we have a path forward,” said Brendon Wheeler, a transportation planning manager with the council of governments.
The agency is four years into the high-speed rail planning process, which includes a National Environmental Policy Act-related review. The regional agency is working with the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and other agencies on the lengthy process, which includes preliminary engineering and environmental documentation. The review process could be complete by March 2025, but the council of governments has been granted some flexibility for those requirements.
Future steps include funding opportunities for the proposal as well as corridor identification and development processes.
The revised alignment for the rail project — developed after the Dallas City Council passed a resolution in June opposing an elevated high-speed rail system through downtown and nearby neighborhoods — is still being finalized but would generally take trains west of Interstate 35 East near Riverfront Boulevard and run parallel with a levee east of the Trinity River.
The route would cross Interstate 30 from the north and possibly curve toward the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which is undergoing a $3.7 billion expansion, before heading south to the high-speed rail station at The Cedars neighborhood south of the Central Business District.
Amtrak has indicated concerns about the western alignment and will submit a formal response to that proposal, Wheeler said.
Council of governments staff is working with the Texas Department of Transportation on finalizing plans for the I-30 corridor.
The revised route would eliminate connections to other rail services at the Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station, the Hyatt Regency Hotel and other surrounding hotels. It has not been determined whether the system would connect with Dallas’ convention center.
Dallas is currently conducting a four-month economic impact study to look at the positive and negative aspects of high-speed rail downtown. Fort Worth and Arlington officials are assisting in the study, which is expected to be complete in October.
An initial proposal for a seven-story rail line through downtown Dallas was favored by regional transportation officials because it would provide a “one-seat ride” approach for the system that could connect Fort Worth to Houston through Dallas.
The western alignment option creates challenges for Dallas officials, who will look for ways to move people from the proposed rail station in The Cedars to downtown.
Michael Morris, director of transportation for the council of governments and staff director for the Regional Transportation Council, said the high-speed rail plan would be “dead” if The Cedars rail station was changed since that site has already been approved after environmental reviews.
Jesse Moreno, a Dallas City Council member who represents western areas of the city, said the revised alignment is viable and that his constituents are excited about the rail project.
“We do need that connectivity to our convention center,” he said.
Raul Gonzalez, an Arlington City Council member, also expressed support for high-speed rail.
“The city of Arlington is excited to be part of this whole process,” he said.
Fort Worth-area leaders have pledged their support for a rail plan that will benefit North Texas, where the population is expected to double from 8 million to more than 15 million by 2050, according to council of governments growth estimates.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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