Fund diversion could doom Texas rail line
Written by AdministratorPlans to build a commuter rail line from southwest Fort Worth to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport would likely be mothballed if Fort Worth stops contributing $7.5 million a year to the project and instead uses the money on street repairs, officials told the Ft. Worth Star Telegram.
"It would really undo any opportunity we have to build that southwest-to-northeast project," said Robert Jameson, a board member for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, known as the T.
Fort Worth officials said that they’re weighing cost-cutting options, including using some of the T’s money, generated by a half-cent sales tax, for streets.
Grapevine officials said they are concerned that Fort Worth officials would even consider such a move. In 2006, Grapevine voters approved a three-eighths-cent sales tax for the rail project and were assured that Fort Worth was committed to the project, too.
Since then, Fort Worth and Grapevine have contributed to the T’s rail reserve fund, and the balance is now $33.5 million, T finance director Rob Harmon said.
The rail project could cost $470 million. T officials have secured about half the funding they need.