Federal money is pouring into Dallas-Fort Worth for these streets, sidewalks and trails

Federal money for roads, sidewalks, trails and other transportation projects is flowing into North Texas, and regional planners have decided where they would like to spend it.

The Dallas-Fort Worth region is slated to receive $54 million from the federal stimulus plan approved by Congress in December for construction of streets, sidewalks, trails and other projects aimed at making multi-modal travel easier in a metro area that for decades evolved as car-dependent.

The projects include:

▪ In west Fort Worth, construction of a new hike and bike path dubbed Bomber Spur Trail from Calmont Avenue to U.S. 377, including pedestrian bridges over Camp Bowie Boulevard and U.S. 377. The $4.9 million in federal funding would be available in 2024 — although, as with all of these projects, the actual construction could occur sooner or later than that date.

“Regarding the timing of projects, the dates referenced ... are representing when each funded phase will begin. If however, the projects are ready to go to construction earlier than currently scheduled, we will move them up,” said Christie Gotti, senior program manager for the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

▪ In southeast Fort Worth, reconstruction of two streets in the Stop Six area, to provide sidewalks, better lighting and other improvements to make them more pedestrian-friendly. The streets are Miller Avenue just north of East Rosedale Street, and Ramey Avenue, from South Hughes Avenue to South Edgewood Terrace.

▪ In northwest Fort Worth, construction of left turn lanes and traffic signal improvements on Marine Creek Parkway, from Nautilus Circle to Loop 820. The $4.3 million in funding is scheduled for 2022, 2023 and 2024.

▪ In Arlington, extension of South Center Street from East Bardin Road to SE Green Oaks Boulevard. The $11.5 million funding is scheduled for 2021 and 2023.

In all, there are several dozen projects selected for construction throughout Dallas-Fort Worth. In most cases, a portion of the funding for the projects comes from the stimulus plan, and other portions come from other federal funds to relieve congestion and improve safety.

Much of the work is scheduled for 2022 and 2023, although some projects are slated to be built this year, Gotti said.

The Regional Transportation Council, the region’s official planning body made up of mayors, county judges and other Metroplex leaders, has published a list of projects that are slated to receive funding and is asking for public comment on the selections.

Residents have until May 12 to submit comments about the projects online.

Michael Morris, transportation director for the council of governments, said the idea is to stimulate the economy with local construction projects that generate jobs and improve mobility in the region.

This is the fourth round of projects RTC has put forward to speed up construction projects during the pandemic economic downturn, and the first involving the expenditure of funds for non-transit projects.

In 2020, as Congress approved stimulus funding in multiple steps, the Dallas-Fort Worth region received $834.8 million for transit overall.

The funding is not related to any money for streets and transportation that may be included in President Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill, which could provide $621 billion for transportation improvements nationwide. That money would be in addition to the usual highway and transit funding provided to states by Congress every few years. Federal money typically makes up about 80% of highway funds and 50% of transit capital projects in Texas, with the rest coming from state and local coffers.

Concerns about Biden infrastructure bill

Speaking to the Regional Transportation Council, Morris also said it was too early to determine how much funding the Dallas-Fort Worth region might also receive from the $2.4 trillion infrastructure bill proposed by Biden.

Morris said he is concerned about the expanded definition of the term ‘infrastructure’ in discussions about Biden’s proposal, and efforts by members of Congress to either expand or reduce the funding. Morris said that only about 30% of the projects in the infrastructure proposal involve transportation and mobility projects — things such as highways, bridges, trails and rail lines — while 70% involves other priorities such as wind energy, wifi connectivity and even improvements to Veterans Affairs facilities.

The main reason for concern, he said, is that in addition to Biden’s infrastructure plan Congress is also scheduled to vote on a new, multi-year transportation bill in September — a bill that provides all the requisite funding for large highway and bridge projects that states depend upon when planning for job and population growth, or maintenance and replacement of aging transportation infrastructure.

Congress last passed a multi-year transportation bill in 2015, for a total of $305 billion in mobility projects nationwide.

Morris is concerned that if Biden’s infrastructure bill introduced in the spring is too encompassing, members of Congress won’t want to pass the more traditional transportation funding bill in the fall.

“If this is all labeled, quote ‘transportation,’ and maybe 30% is actually transportation, I think ... that when we get to the transportation bill someone (in Congress) may say, ‘Wait a minute, you’ve already gotten a bunch of money for transportation,’ and then we’re not going to have a transportation bill,” Morris said. “I think there is a huge potential cost to transportation, just due to labeling this (Biden proposal) a transportation and infrastructure bill.”