Two new stations along DART’s incoming 26-mile Silver Line are under construction in Plano. By 2024 residents will be able to travel to DFW metro area and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
The Silver Line will extend between the DFW airport and Shiloh Road in Plano. The $1.899 billion project will traverse seven cities on its way: Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Plano. Additionally, the corridor will interface the red/orange lines in Richardson and Plano, the green line in Carrollton and the orange line at DFW airport.
“The stations are currently under construction right now,” DART external relations director Gordon Shattles told Plano Star Courier. “Anyone who's on Avenue K right now can probably see the area has very large concrete structures. That will be part of the rail that will be serving the area. The city of Plano has been really looking forward to this with a lot of transit-oriented development around the 12 Street Station.”
In addition to better connecting the city to the heart of the metropolitan area, the new stations will feature themes representing a unique feature of the neighborhoods they service. According to a report by Community Impact, the theme for the 12th Street Station will be the movement of air and the future, while also paying tribute to the industrial history of the area.
The inspiration for the Shiloh Road Station, the farthest east station in the Silver Line corridor, will be electricity, given the neighborhood’s proximity to an electrical substation. The station is projected to service around 690 passengers daily by 2040 and the travel time from this station to the beginning of the corridor at DFW airport is estimated to be 60 minutes.
“Each one of the stations was designed with an art and design aspect to them,” Shattles said. “We actually worked with the community and neighborhoods to determine a theme with each station to represent the neighborhoods they serve.”
With Collin County’s booming growth, the new line will allow residents who work in the DFW area a safer, cleaner and faster way to and from work. According to Shattles, this will be the first DART rail line to run east to west.
“That’s the real game changer, the ability to travel from east to west,” said Plano’s special projects director Peter Braster. “I think downtown Plano has always been a shining example of what our partnership between our cities and the agency can do to really revitalize and bring business to an area,” he continued. “I live very close to downtown Plano and love being there.”
In case you missed it, here's Local Profile's report on the $908M loan DART secured for the project.
