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A new round of funding that will bring a streetcar project to the area could create several professional engineering jobs in Dallas, as well as much-needed construction jobs and other permanent positions.

The City of Dallas recently received a $23 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to build a starter streetcar line from downtown to Oak Cliff. The funding the city is slated to receive is only about half of what officials originally requested.

Under the original proposal for a streetcar project, Dallas asked for $96 million that it would split with Fort Worth. However, as the grant total was reduced, Fort Worth was completely dropped from the plan.

According to an article by The Dallas Morning News, the project will not begin anytime soon, as it takes three years to even purchase streetcars. In addition, Dallas still has to evaluate the city's proposed route.

The grant will pay for a starter loop that is expected to reach Oak Cliff, but work will continue on a larger streetcar initiative that would cost $80 million and complement a second light-rail line downtown when it opens in 2016.

The starter loop will begin at Harwood and Main streets, then run along Main Street to Houston Street, where it will connect with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority and Trinity Railway Express lines at Union Station.

The streetcar line also would stop at the Dallas Convention Center, Trinity River park, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Oak Cliff Gateway and several residential areas.

Aside from the streetcar grant, the North Texas Tollway Authority also received a separate $20 million grant to perform work on State Highway 161. The two grants slated for Texas were part of 51 total grants given out.

Funding for the grants will come from a $1.5 billion special grant competition that brought in requests for more than $59 billion in funding.

Labels: Professional engineering jobs in Dallas