Metropolitan Transit Authority Phone: 713-739-4040 | News Release |
METRO Board of Directors |
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| Contact: | Sandra Aponte Salazar | Today's Date: | Thursday, July 20, 2006 | ||
| Media Relations Specialist | |||||
713-739-4040 | Subject: | East End Corridor |
METRO BOARD SELECTS PREFERRED ALIGNMENT FOR EAST END CORRIDOR |
Today, the METRO Board of Directors selected a preferred alignment to build guided rapid transit to serve Houston's East End community. The Board voted unanimously in favor of Harrisburg on which to build the East End Corridor. This is the first in a series of Board actions on corridor alignments, with the East End Corridor one of five to be built as part of the METRO Solutions Phase 2 Implementation Plan.
The Board action paves the way for the project team to move fully into preliminary engineering to refine the alignment and identify station locations. Also included in the project's next phase is environmental assessments. The 4 mile Harrisburg alignment would proceed from downtown Houston on Capitol Street, turning north at Bastrop onto Harrisburg, and continuing east on Harrisburg to the Magnolia Transit Center. Construction is expected to begin in July, 2007 and be completed by December, 2010.
There were three other alignment options the Board considered. They were a Hike-n-Bike Trail, the active Union Pacific right-of-way and Navigation. Each alignment option was evaluated in terms of potential ridership, estimated capital costs, community input, economic development opportunities, right-of-way impacts and other factors.
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