Despite thousands of Austinites saying they “want all the details,” there really aren’t that many details to share. The referendum is asking for your up-or-down vote on light rail in general, not on a specific plan. The details we do know haven’t changed that much over the years. The starter segment that Cap Met is currently planning — the “Red/Green Line” from Howard Lane to downtown — is the same route, through the same neighborhoods, that the authority floated back in 1992.
As Cap Met defines it, the initial phase also includes the east/west (to MLK) and southern (to Ben White) connections shown on the map in light blue. Everything else is a future phase that, right now, is nothing but a line on the map. All Cap Metro says is that the the full system will be built by 2025 and should cost a few bucks shy of $2 billion in today’s dollars.
Initial phases (Opening between 2007 and 2009):
Starter Segment (Howard Lane to downtown) 14 miles
Phase 1B (MLK and Ben White extensions) 7 miles
Future phases (All future phases opening by 2025, sequence yet to be determined):
Howard Lane to Leander 16 miles
MLK to Lamar/Airport 4 miles
East Austin to Bergstrom 7 miles
Ben White to Slaughter Lane 4 miles
Total cost estimate: $1.9 billion in today’s dollars. Initial estimates for the Red/Green line, made public by Capital Metro last year, pegged the cost at around $970 million.
This article appears in October 13 • 2000.