FTA's Bushue signs $700M pledge for DART rail project

FTA Deputy Administrator Sandra Bushue on Monday signed the Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA), pledging $700 million to Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) for its light rail expansion project. The FFGA, the largest ever awarded to DART, kick-starts a $2.5 billion expansion that will double the rail system to 90 miles by 2013. The funding will also support a 21-mile northwest/southeast connector (Green Line) linking Farmers Branch and the Pleasant Grove section of Dallas. Additional branches will extend the Green Line to Carrollton and create a new Orange Line serving Las Colinas and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by 2013. Altogether, the rail extensions are expected to add 60,000 weekday passenger trips, which will essentially double ridership on the system.