Austin's Light Rail clears key federal review to move project forward

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin's Light Rail project cleared a key federal review to move the project forward.

The environmental review is now complete, and it was done in just two years.

The backstory:

"We are bringing Light Rail to Austin," said Jennifer Pyne, executive vice president, planning, community & federal programs, Austin Transit Partnership.

On Friday, the project moved one step closer to becoming a reality in Central Texas.

Phase one of the Light Rail will span around 10 miles, connecting downtown Austin, along UT, down South Congress, and along the East Riverside.

The electric train system will run on the street with their own dedicated lane.

"Our Light Rail will connect to the Red Line, as well as bus service and other transit modes. The goal is to have a really seamless network that makes it easy for people to get around town," said Pyne.

The transit service will include 15 stations with trains arriving every 5 to 10 minutes.

The Austin Transit Partnership says the preliminary engineering and design of the project has been in the works for years.

"We have, for the last couple of years, been doing extensive studies and environmental reviews of the work," said Pyne.

On Friday, Project Connect cleared a big hurdle.

"What is culminating today, is the release of a record of decision. What that means is that we've been working very closely with the federal transit administration to do these reviews of the project. And so we've concluded that process," said Pyne.

The decision means it met the environmental requirements for the project. It’s a necessary step to receive billions of dollars in federal funding and to begin construction.

The environmental impact statement detailed potential effects on the environment and economy with community input shaping the design along the way.

"Some examples. One is we added another station downtown near Wooldridge Square. That was very much driven by community input. As part of this project, we're building a new bridge over Lady Bird Lake. And it will have bicycle and pedestrian facilities as well," said Pyne.

What's next:

Now, the project moves to the next stage of detailed engineering and project implementation.

"We're in a position to start construction in 2027, which is when we anticipate that happening. So, this next year, we are bringing in, next month, the first of our big construction contractors who will work with us to continue to refine and finalize the design for the project and then ultimately start building," said Pyne.

Austin’s Light Rail is scheduled to open for service in 2033.