Non-profit group is formed to keep tabs on Austin’s Project Connect

Rising real estate costs and inflation have caused the cost of Austin’s Project Connect to almost double.

All eyes will be on Austin’s Project Connect when construction kicks into full gear in the near future, but it helps to have the right eyes on the progress.

Transit Forward is a non-profit group that launched on Oct. 27 and its sole purpose is to make sure the Project Connect plan is implemented the way it was laid out to voters when it was approved in November 2020. The group also will ensure that the plan is equitable, sustainable and accessible, and will serve as an informant to the public and a promoter of transit policies in Austin.

Patrick Rose, president of Corridor Title, has been named the chairman of Transit Forward.

Preliminary engineering, design, and procurement work for the Orange and Blue lines is expected to take three to four years, and construction will take another four to five years.

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