(The following Associated Press story was published in the January 11 issue of the Charlotte Observer.)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The federal government has given the Triangle Transit Authority the go-ahead to acquire land for a 35-mile, $724 million commuter rail system connecting Raleigh, Durham and Research Triangle Park.
The authority announced Friday that the Federal Transit Administration had determined the project meets basic environmental standards that allow it to be considered viable.
The authority can now start spending $57 million in federal, state and local dollars on land for the stations, tracks and rail yard. Organizers hope to start service beginning in December 2007 with diesel trains running along an existing freight corridor.
A five-year environmental study on the project was plagued by delays.
“FTA officially said, ‘You’ve done a good job.’ Now, we hope the community will celebrate this milestone, then put shoulder to the plow with us to get the system built,” TTA chairwoman Anne Franklin said.
Light rail for the Raleigh-Durham area has been debated for nearly a decade as alternative transportation to relieve increasing road congestion.
The decision doesn’t guarantee federal funding for the rail line. Train supporters will have to continue lobbying federal regulators and the region’s congressional delegation to land additional dollars. The TTA also needs permission from federal regulators to begin final engineering work.
The TTA completed a deal in April with the North Carolina Railroad Co. for a 50-year lease for use of 27 miles of railroad right-of-way from downtown Raleigh to Durham. An agreement to buy land from CSX Corp. through north Raleigh is still pending.
TTA wants the Federal Transit Administration to provide funding for half of the project. Dozens of other cities are competing for the same pot of transit dollars.
The TTA has secured its 25 percent local share of funding for the rail system through a 5 percent tax on rental car receipts in Durham, Orange and Wake counties. State transportation officials say they will cover the remaining 25 percent.
TTA officials say they will need another tax or fee increase to expand the system beyond the initial 35 miles, to Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Chapel Hill.
Sen.-elect Clark Jenkins, an outgoing member of the state Board of Transportation, this week criticized the TTA system, calling it a “high-priced show dog.”
TTA supporters say the rail system will give commuters at least the opportunity to avoid sitting in gridlock.
“While it won’t remove congestion,” TTA General Manager John Claflin said, “it will help balance it.”
Some property owners will start receiving letters this spring outlining the agency’s interest in their property. A series of community meetings to discuss station designs will begin in March.
Groundbreaking for the rail yard and maintenance shop, track work, bridges and some of the 16 stations along the route may begin by the end of the year.
Charlotte plans to spend $371 million to build a light rail line linking its downtown with its outer loop 10 miles away. Charlotte is still a few months away from receiving federal approval for its project.