The agency tasked with building the Austin's voter-approved light rail system—Austin Transit Partnership—has officially launched the official solicitation process for a design and construction contract worth an estimated $3 billion.
An additional $1 billion in contracts is also anticipated for vehicle purchase and operation and maintenance, while the total cost of the project is estimated at $7.1 billion.
What’s happening?
ATP expects to award the final design and construction contract by early 2026, with crews breaking ground in 2027, according to a news release.
The agency will use a two-step procurement process to vet interested applicants.
Contractors will initially submit a request for qualifications, which will remain open until July 3. Once the firms are deemed qualified for the project, they will submit requests for proposals in August, by which the ATP team will evaluate the firms’ experience, approach and total cost proposals.
The contract will follow ATP’s approach of teaming up with private companies to bring in “top talent” and deliver a “world-class light rail system for Austin,” ATP CEO Greg Canally said in a statement.
The Austin light rail is expected to create and support hundreds of thousands of jobs both locally and across the state.
A closer look
The transit authority has outlined a few things they are looking for during the review of firm proposals:
- Innovative designs that meet technical needs while reflecting Austin’s unique character
- Plans for construction in a way that keeps the city moving during the build
- Up-to-date construction costs early in the design process to keep the project on budget
“This is something that's really unique to what ATP is doing and how we procure our goods and services—involving the industry as early as possible,” Cummings told Community Impact during the agency’s early-2025 engagement with private firms.
He said government requests for proposals are often created without industry input and released with little warning. By issuing a request for information first, ATP was able to work with industry partners early on—gathering feedback and addressing potential issues before formally seeking bids.
About the project
The all-electric light rail system is expected to run every five to 10 minutes and connect individuals across the city to job centers, education hubs and iconic Austin destinations, according to ATP documents.
The 10-mile build-out includes 15 stations, miles of new pedestrian and cycling paths and a new bridge across Lady Bird Lake.
The massive infrastructure project dates back 25 years, with previous attempts to gain approval of the citywide transit plan failing in 2000 and 2014.
Project Connect's development has been gradually moving forward since Austin residents in 2020 approved the light rail and rapid bus network backed by new taxes.
The project has seen a series of legal challenges related to the financing of the light rail seen in recent years, with ATP spending upward of $1 million in litigation costs as of January.
The rail lines pitched at that time have since been scaled down. Austin Light Rail Phase 1 will now cover about half the distance, with the potential for future extensions.
However, the agency cited plans at the beginning of the year for additional improvements to the transit system, including:
- Creating an urban greenway along East Riverside Drive to provide continuous, shaded pedestrian and bike paths in an historically underserved area
- Elevating the Waterfront Station and extending the light rail bridge to improve the ability of the train and cars to move around the East Riverside area
- Refining East Riverside Drive station locations by moving the Faro station closer to Grove Boulevard to better serve the ACC Riverside campus and residents of the city’s 107-acre planned affordable housing project nearby
- Adding a new downtown station at Wooldridge Square to improve access throughout downtown and reduce the distance between stations
One last thing
During the most recent Texas legislative session, several proposed bills targeted the project’s financing mechanism; however, both Senate Bill 2519 and House Bill 3879 failed to pass within the Texas House.
