The City of Austin’s mass transit project Project Connect was the subject of conversation at last week’s Movability breakfast at St. Edward’s University.
Movability is the region’s transportation management association, and it works to promote connectivity in the Central Texas area. A city blog recapped the Feb. 4 annual breakfast, during which featured Capital Metro president & CEO Dottie Watkins and Jennifer Pyne of the Austin Transit Partnership.
During the event, Pyne and Watkins both answered questions about the current status of Project Connect and the moves Capital Metro and ATP are making in tandem to bring the vision to reality.
According to Pyne, the light rail project received a Record of Decision a few weeks ago, which is a milestone for the project. That means it has cleared the end of the environmental impact statement process for projects seeking federal funding.
“It’s really a green light to take the project to the next level, to do further design, to really advance the work,” Pyne said. “We are in a position to start to do utilities relocation. So, it’s really moving to the next phase.”
Pyne said APT is pursuing grant funding from the New Starts program, which is part of the Federal Transit Administration and designed to support major capital investments. She estimated the city is approximately two years away from inking such an agreement.
That would mean construction starts in roughly 2027. “We’re bringing on some of our key partners, the construction contractors, and the final designers, coming on this year. We will be identifying a vehicle manufacturer later this year and getting ready to actually turn dirt,” Pyne said.
ATP is currently in three active solicitations with one for the light rail track, systems, and stations, and another team for operations and maintenance facilities. “We are also actively in a solicitation with railcar builders to bring those on,” she said.