Austin's long-delayed light-rail project just got a crucial green light from the Trump administration, clearing a major checkpoint after years of lawsuits and political fights over the city's 9.8-mile starter system. If built, the light-rail line would have 15 stations and all-electric trains arriving as frequently as every five minutes with service estimated to start in 2033.
Federal transportation officials on Friday issued what's known as a Record of Decision, formally signing off on the project's lengthy environmental review.
The approval allows the Austin Transit Partnership to move into more detailed design work, begin relocating utilities and start the process of using eminent domain to acquire property along the rail corridor.
"It's a big milestone from the federal process side," ATP executive vice president Jennifer Pyne said in an interview ahead of the Federal Transit Administration's announcement. "It's a significant hurdle that we're completing and really allows us to get to the next level of work on the project."
The federal approval also locks in several changes to the project's design since last year's draft environmental review.
Among the changes, ATP no longer plans to build a parking garage at the northern end of the line at 38 1/2 and Guadalupe streets. The structure had drawn concern from nearby residents and would have required additional property acquisition.
"There was concern about structured parking, so we're not including that in our concept," Pyne said. "So there should still be a parking facility there, but we've moved away from a parking structure."
The new park-and-ride facility would have fewer parking spaces.
Pyne said planners were able to move a station near the eastern end of Riverside Drive and eliminate the need to seize up to three nearby homes in the Montopolis neighborhood. Dozens of businesses could still have their property expropriated.
With the environmental review complete, ATP is preparing to award major contracts that will shape how the system is built. Pyne said the agency is on track to bring its first team of contractors as early as next month.
The FTA decision doesn't settle one of the biggest questions hanging over the project: Will the federal government agree to pay for up to half the cost of building it?
The full price tag of Austin's light-rail system, including interest on loans, is currently estimated at more than $8 billion. The figure includes not just the tracks and trains, but also a new bridge over Lady Bird Lake, elevated rail along a section of Riverside Drive, a 62-acre operations and maintenance facility near the airport, utility relocations, bike lanes, sidewalks and an estimated $1 billion in property acquisitions.
Since 2020, ATP has amassed more than $400 million in cash reserves from the voter-approved property tax increase and investment income. But without major federal support, the project wouldn't have a clear financial path forward.
ATP officials don't expect any deal on a federal grant to be locked down until late 2027 or early 2028, well after construction is scheduled to begin, Pyne said.
"It's tough to speak clearly about that because we still need to finalize that overall schedule with FTA, but we're moving through the gates," she said. "That's how these big projects go."
The first phase of the system was already scaled back once, shrinking from a 20.2 mile network with downtown subway to the current 9.8-mile surface line. City officials blamed the cost overruns on factors such as inflation and design creep, like the ever-lengthening underground transit tunnel.
But some disgruntled taxpayers were unconvinced by the explanations and filed a lawsuit in state court, accusing the city of pulling a "bait-and-switch."
That suit was combined with a separate legal challenge by ATP seeking court permission to take out large loans known as bonds. The ATP lawsuit was a pre-emptive attempt to stop the Texas Attorney General from using his oversight authority to prevent the bond sales.
The Texas Attorney General has challenged the ATP's authority to seek such court permission, and a hearing on that issue is set before the Texas Supreme Court on Feb. 10.
