AUSTIN – A long-awaited transit project to double track the MetroRail Red Line in downtown Austin will get $18 million in federal funding as part of the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity discretionary grant program.
The grant will go toward double tracking along the existing Red Line, a second station platform at Plaza Saltillo, signalization, positive train control (PTC) modifications, safer railroad crossings at five locations, construction of new active transportation infrastructure between Chicon and Pedernales, and the reconfiguration of Fifth St. The project also includes construction of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
Capital Metro, the city’s mass transit agency, will contribute $13.2 million toward the project’s total cost of $32.2 million. This will allow CapMetro to complete the double track from Onion St./Plaza Saltillo to the Seventh St. underpass.
The project has been billed as environmentally sustainable, an improvement to quality of life, and one that fosters economic competitiveness and opportunity. Vehicle dependency is also expected to be reduced while the price of public transportation decreases.
Long-term economic growth and other economic investments will be improved by travel time reliability along the Red Line to downtown and University of Texas-Austin, as well as many small businesses within a half a mile of the new stations.