An agreement between the city of Plano and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has been approved for the Silver Line project. New benefits and additional turn lanes were included.
The Dallas Morning News reported that the 26-mile Silver Line has been in the works since 1990. The line will travel between southeast Plano and DFW International Airport, with stops at 10 stations.
The new agreement will include grade-separated crossings, at-grade crossings for the rail line and the hike and bike trail. The signal timing coordination will also be updated to add an additional turn lane from the President George Bush Turnpike eastbound frontage road to northbound Alma Drive.
“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.”
Local Profile previously reported the $1.899 billion project will traverse seven cities on its way: Grapevine, Coppell, Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Plano. The corridor will interface the red/orange lines in Richardson and Plano, the green line in Carrollton and the orange line at DFW airport.
After being delayed due to construction issues and the pandemic, the project is expected to be completed by the end of December 2024. The completion date is two years behind the original schedule.
“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.”
