AUSTIN, Texas — Austin’s mayor and transportation leaders said Wednesday they’ll keep moving forward with Project Connect, the $7.1 billion transit plan voters approved in 2020, despite a new lawsuit challenging it.
“We should be moving forward the way that we are because the public said that’s what they want,” Mayor Kirk Watson said during Transit Forward’s annual update on Project Connect.
He added, “The best way to address [the lawsuit] is in the court system.”
On Monday, several Austinites filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the city is illegally collecting property tax for Project Connect because voters aren’t getting what they voted for.
“This is a bait-and-switch,” Cathy Cocco, who voted for Project Connect in 2020, said during a news conference on Tuesday at Dirty Martin’s, one of the businesses in jeopardy of closing along the proposed light rail path.
The plan was drastically scaled back in 2023 after inflation and rising costs pushed its price tag past $11 billion.
“Instead, they’re pursuing what I call a ‘miniature Project Connect,’” said Bill Aleshire, lead counsel on the lawsuit.
On Wednesday, the head of Austin Transit Partnership (ATP), the local government corporation responsible for implementing Project Connect, revealed ATP has started the process to secure around $4 billion to build out light rail.
“That’s about a two-year process to secure that federal money,” Greg Canally, the executive director of ATP, said. “We think now, because of the land use, our rating will be better.”
Leaders say two new MetroRapid bus lines included in the plan will open in Spring 2025: one from Mueller to Southeast Austin, the other from downtown to the Travis County Expo Center.
“We want to make sure we’re adding park-and-rides where they make sense,” said Commissioner Jeff Travillion (Precinct 1), who serves as the chair of CapMetro’s Board of Directors.
Officials also highlighted two parts of Project Connect that have already been built: the on-demand rideshare program Pickup in the Dove Springs area, which launched in January, plus the February opening of McKalla Station on the Red Line commuter rail next to Q2 Stadium.
“We’ve seen a lot of people try transit for the first time for special events, and then they now know it’s not so scary,” CapMetro CEO Dottie Watkins said.
Leaders vowed to stay on track through upcoming fights in the courts and possibly the Texas State Capitol in the 2025 legislative session. A bill to stop Project Connect failed during the 2023 session.
Officials hope to start light rail construction in 2027 and run the first trains in 2033.