Media Relations Contact:
Morgan Lyons

May 25, 2000

Public input important

DART Board Finalizes Southeast Corridor Rail Route

DART has completed plans for light rail to serve Fair Park and Pleasant Grove with the selection of the alignment of the final two miles of the 10.2-mile alignment from downtown to southeast Dallas.

Following community meetings in March and April, DART's Board of Directors selected the final portion rail alignment that would travel along the Southern Pacific right of way beyond Lake June to Elam Road at Buckner Boulevard. Based on considerable public input, this alignment was selected over a route that would have turned east at Lake June Road traveling along it to Buckner Boulevard.

DART's Board of Directors approved the first eight miles of the alignment in February. The alignment features a double track rail line going east along Bryan Street from DART's Pearl Station, turning south along Good-Latimer Expressway, then turning east at Gaston Avenue following the old Union Pacific rail line to the northwest corner of Fair Park, turning south at Parry Avenue. The route crosses R.B. Cullum Boulevard, and follows the former Southern Pacific Railroad alignment southeast.

DART planners estimate the $450 million light rail line will carry 19,500 riders a day. The alignment maximizes access and economic development potential to communities in south Dallas and the Fair Park area. The selection of an alignment completes almost two years of studies, extensive community hearings and work group meetings aimed at choosing a Locally Preferred Investment Strategy (LPIS) for the Southeast Corridor.

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