Corpus Christi — Trolley Update
Rail Transit Online, April 2003
Strong support from residents and especially the business community for a
proposed downtown rail circulator has accelerated planning and generated
$400,000 for preliminary engineering and an environmental assessment.
Several route variations through downtown were selected by consultants
Parsons, Brinckerhoff and Gignac & Associates. All would be about two miles
(3.2 km) long, starting north of the center at the site of a proposed
baseball stadium and terminating at City Hall. The line would serve
numerous tourist attractions including a museum and the waterfront
restaurant district (see RTOL, Mar. 2003). Both replica and original
heritage trolleys are being considered, according to Regional Transportation
Authority General Manager Linda Watson. She said preliminary engineering,
financed by the RTA and a Federal Highway Administration grant, will suggest
the best route and the track configuration. Preliminary capital cost
estimates indicate the trolley’s price tag would be between $22 million and
$33 million, and significant federal funding would be required. Watson has
already traveled to Washington, D.C. seeking support from the Texas
congressional delegation. |
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