Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) set Dec. 6, 2010 as the date of completion on the final sections of its Green Line light rail project. Two sections, from MLK Jr. Station near Fair Park south to Buckner Station in Pleasant Grove and from Victory Station northwest to North Carrollton, will open completing the 20 station, 28 mile, $1.8 billion project.
The first part of the Green Line, from Pearl Station to MLK Jr., along with daily service to Victory Station, opened in September 2009. Work began on the Green Line in fall 2006, following the receipt of a $700 million Full Funding Grant Agreement from the Federal Transit Administration. At its peak, construction of the Green Line, the longest light rail project under construction in North America, produced more than 2,200 construction jobs.
The section from Fair Park to Pleasant Grove includes four stations: Hatcher, Lawnview, Lake June and Buckner. A featured stop will be the 6,000 acre Great Trinity Forest near Lawnview Station. The largest urban hardwood forest in the U.S. is also home to the Trinity River Audubon Center, which has nature trails and hands-on exhibits.
In addition to the Green Line, DART will open Lake Highlands Station on the Blue Line in December. Work also continues on a Blue Line extension from Downtown Garland to Downtown Rowlett. That section will open by December 2012.