By Shelley Kofler
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-701141.mp3
Dallas, TX – The funding will help build a portion of DART's Green Line. The 28-mile stretch, from Pleasant Grove to Carrollton, is the largest light rail construction project in North America.
DART executive director Gary Thomas says the federal money is not automatically ours. It's part of a multi-year grant that North Texas officials in Congress must fight for every year.
Thomas: "That 700 million dollars the FTA said it would grant us to construct that part of the Green Line is about , almost 50-percent of that project. So, it's a big chunk of the money, it's a big part of that project. So it's very important to us, it's very important to the region that our delegation continue to support that."
The first segment of the Green Line in Southeast Dallas will open late next year, with stops at Fair Park, Baylor Hospital Deep Ellum and Victory Plaza in downtown Dallas.