Federal Transit Administration May 11, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) issue this notice to advise interested agencies and the public of their intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed Northwest Corridor-Irving/DFW Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project in Dallas and Irving, Texas. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as amended. The Northwest Corridor-Irving/DFW Line LRT project is the product of the Northwest Corridor Major Investment Study (MIS) completed by DART in early 2000. The MIS identified a Locally Preferred Investment Strategy (LPIS), which included a light rail element with two service lines, the Carrollton Line and the Irving/DFW Line. An EIS evaluating alternatives for the Carrollton Line has been completed, and FTA issued a Record of Decision on this portion of the LPIS on February 5, 2004. The identified primary travel need for the Northwest Corridor- Irving/DFW Line LRT is to serve the general northwest-southeast travel pattern along the Interstate Highway (IH) 35E/State Highway (SH) 114 corridor from downtown Dallas into North Irving. The LPIS alignment addressed this need with an alignment that generally parallels SH 114 through north Irving before terminating on the north side of SH 114, west of Beltline Road. After adoption of the LPIS, significant changes in land use and transportation patterns have occurred in the Irving/DFW Corridor. Subsequent analyses by DART for the Irving/DFW Corridor have resulted in a refinement to the LPIS alignment. The refined alignment also addresses the primary travel need with an alignment that runs parallel but south of SH 114 through north Irving. Both of these ``Build'' alternatives will be fully evaluated in the EIS.