Mayor Jeff Cheney, City Manager Wes Pierson and interim Engineering Services Director Jason Brodigan gave a status update on Rail District construction during a Feb. 19 town hall meeting.
“We're making major improvements in our Rail District,” Cheney said. “Council has been very committed to making sure that our downtown is a unique destination.”
The details
Redeveloping the Rail District can be broken down into four distinct projects, Brodigan said.
- Elm Street construction
- Main Street construction
- Fourth Street Plaza construction
- Five-story downtown parking garage construction
Work on the multiphase project officially began when ground broke on Elm Street last July, Cheney said. That phase of the Rail District is expected to wrap up soon, Brodigan said.
“We're just getting the lights up now, and that'll be the last step,” he said.
Once Elm Street reopens, it can be used as a detour path for drivers to avoid Main Street when the next wave of construction hits.
“We'll start construction on [Main Street] in April,” Brodigan said. “We're full throttle right now trying to get those plans finished up so we can go to bid.”
Main Street construction is expected to last two years.
“The focus [on Main Street] is to change it from more of a vehicle-centric pass-through to a very walkable experience—somewhere you want to go,” Brodigan said.
What else?
Work on the overall Fourth Street Plaza and parking garage construction is expected to begin sometime this summer, Brodigan said.
“We are working out the exact timing between which one starts first because they share a boundary, and we don't want one to get in the way of the other,” he said. “I expect the garage will start first.”
All four Rail District projects should finish in early summer 2026, just ahead of the World Cup games, Brodigan said. Arlington's AT&T Stadium will host nine World Cup matches during the tournament, which is the most for any host city.
Keep in mind
The work planned for Main Street is designed to ensure some sections will be open to drivers during construction, Brodigan said.
“We'll never fully close Main Street,” he said. “Maybe overnight, but [it will] never ... really [be] fully closed for a long period of time.”
Learn more
The main point of contact for the Rail District projects is Matthew DuBois, Frisco’s interim assistant director of engineering, Brodigan said.
“We wanted to have a single point of contact because we have three separate projects going on,” he said.
Residents can also find Rail District updates at www.friscotexas.gov/1599/downtown-redevelopment.
