What happened to Light Rail?
The Light Rail project began with a Major Investment Study in 1996. After initial studies and analysis, rapid transit was prioritized over other alternatives and the locally preferred South Central Corridor was selected. The project entered into the Federal New Starts Program, and it was approved as a project in Horizon 2030, the regions long-range transportation plan. The project then moved into Preliminary Engineering after the FTA issued a recommended rating and the draft environmental impact statement was completed. In 2004 2006, the FTA implied that the movement into Final Design was not possible without a secured local match and the Draft Environmental Statement was not released for public review. At this point, TARC withdrew the Transportation Tomorrow project from New Starts program due to the inability to secure local funding.
