NCDOT includes Durham-Orange light-rail project in state funding plan

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has identified 138 regional impact transportation projects that it anticipates funding and scheduling for construction over the next decade.

The projects include seven related to rail for a total of $96 million in state funding and three related to transit for a total of $191 million.

Among the identified regional projects that the department anticipates funding is the proposed Durham-Orange light-rail initiative, which NCDOT anticipates will receive $190 million, according to a department press release.

An evaluation of 915 regional impact projects across the state identified the top-scoring projects to be slated for construction in the forthcoming 2020-2029 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). In addition to rail and transit, they include 115 highway projects, anticipated to receive a total of $2.5 billion; and three ferry projects, anticipated to receive a total of $26 million.

The 17.7-mile Durham-Orange light-rail route would run from University of North Carolina hospitals in Chapel Hill to North Carolina Central University in Durham. The route would include 18 stations.

In summer 2017, the Federal Transit Administration approved moving the project into the engineering phase of the Capital Investment Grants program, making the project eligible for $1 billion in federal funds.

Earlier this week, the Durham County Board of Commissioners agreed to provide $57.6 million to fill a funding gap for the $2.5 billion light-rail project.