A shorter route, lower maintenance and operating costs and fewer train cars are among the recommendations to slash about 20% of the costs for Charlotte’s proposed light-rail extension.
Members of the Metropolitan Transit Commission discussed those changes Wednesday night as part of the group’s monthly meeting. In November, the MTC, the governing body for regional transit expansion and operations, endorsed a long-term plan that included a reduced budget for the light-rail expansion to make it more affordable and to cope with depleted tax revenue.
If the MTC approves the changes, the price tag would drop to $910 million, based on an expected opening in 2016, down from the earlier estimate of $1.12 billion.
Transit officials hope to have a final decision from the MTC on the changes next month. City Council will be briefed on Jan. 10, with the MTC considering the revisions on Jan. 26.
“We are continuing to find creative ways to move the project forward,” said Carolyn Flowers, chief executive of the Charlotte Area Transit System, operator of the bus and rail lines.
Delays and budget problems have wreaked havoc on ambitious expansion plans for the city’s transit system in recent months.
Jeffrey Parker, a national consultant hired by CATS, told the MTC last month that a scaled-down light-rail expansion and drastically reduced growth in the bus system would be needed to cope with an anticipated $400 million shortfall in transit tax revenue and other expected budget constraints over the next decade.
Other sacrifices adopted by the MTC at the earlier meeting included deferring plans along the Independence Boulevard corridor and delaying construction of a $450 million to $500 million, 10-mile streetcar line indefinitely. A 25-mile commuter-rail line to Iredell County remains on the front burner but lacks 40% of the necessary funding.
On Wednesday, the MTC dug into the details of recommendations by CATS staffers to trim the light-rail proposal. It will connect with the existing 10-mile, $463 million light-rail line that runs along South Boulevard into uptown. That segment, known as the Lynx line, opened in 2007.
The biggest suggested change to the new light-rail section would end the extended route at UNC Charlotte instead of Interstate 485, shortening the route by 1.2 miles and eliminating the need for bridge crossings over wetlands areas. That would save $92 million.
Other cost-cutting measures include buying 18 train cars instead of the 26 originally targeted. By doing that, another $38 million would be sliced from the cost.
Trains would run at 7.5-minute intervals instead of the 6-minute schedule endorsed in the previous plan, helping reduce operating expenses.
Parking at the light-rail stations would also be changed. By forgoing the route to I-485, some 2,000 parking spaces would be lost, which would likely be redistributed at stops on J.W. Clay Boulevard or McCullough Drive, as well as University Boulevard. The cost of those 2,000 spaces is $40 million and is accounted for in the savings outlined in the proposal.
Another $9 million could be saved by delaying construction of a deck at the Sugar Creek station. Instead, CATS would build surface lots.
Revamped maintenance and storage plans for the train cars, using existing facilities, could save another $26 million. Those reductions are viable because the reduced fleet size eliminates the immediate need for a second maintenance facility.
One of the main tenets of light rail — encouraging better urban street design — could be affected by the changes as well.
Reductions to the buffer zone, eliminating bicycle lanes and a widening of sidewalks along North Tryon Street, could save $45 million.
Charlotte Department of Transportation representatives favor an alternative approach to get the same amount of savings. If $11 million in local money can be found, state and federal funds totaling $33 million could be tapped to preserve the original plans on North Tryon.
City Manager Curt Walton signaled that is a likely outcome, pending City Council approval. Two bonds, passed by voters in 2008 and 2010, totaling $30 million for North Tryon improvements could be tapped for the $11 million. If that happens, the rest would likely be paid through state and federal money.
MTC members raised no objections to the revised plans, though no formal vote has been taken.
Mayor Anthony Foxx, the incoming MTC chair, said the reductions are appropriate, given the sluggish economy.
“I like the idea of getting everything done the way we originally wanted to get it done,” he said. “That’s not the reality right now. Reality is taking a conservative approach.”