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Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) soon will send a copy of the agency’s long-range financial plan to its 13 member cities for a 30-day review.

The plan supports DART’s future rail projects, including the 14-mile Orange Line, which will run northwest to the Las Colinas Urban Center and is scheduled to open in 2011; an extension to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, scheduled to open in 2013; and a 4.75-mile Blue Line extension to Rowlett, scheduled to open in 2012. The financial plan also might include projects such as a second rail line through the Dallas Central Business District and a Blue Line extension from Ledbetter Station to Interstate 20.

Combined, the projects would cost about $2.3 billion. The board could adopt a final version of the financial plan as early as April 8.

Meanwhile, President and Executive Director Gary Thomas has restructured DART’s leadership team to provide direct oversight of the agency’s rail construction projects. DART currently is building the $1.8 billion, 28-mile Green Line between Pleasant Grove and Carrollton. The new management structure will better align day-to-day operations and administrative functions under distinct leaders, improve internal communications, and help Thomas better monitor project costs and communicate progress to passengers and the board, he said.