{"id":458580,"date":"2025-12-19T21:31:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T21:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/458580\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T21:31:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T21:31:18","slug":"state-awards-25-million-to-advance-cotton-belt-trail-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/458580\/","title":{"rendered":"State Awards $25 Million to Advance Cotton Belt Trail Construction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"405\" data-end=\"646\">ARLINGTON \u2014 State funding is advancing the Cotton Belt Trail toward completion.<br data-start=\"511\" data-end=\"514\"\/>The Texas Transportation Commission awarded DART $25 million for construction. The funding supports Phase 3A of the trail project.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"648\" data-end=\"858\">The award comes through the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program. This statewide initiative expands bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. As a result, multimodal travel options continue improving.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"860\" data-end=\"1062\">The Cotton Belt Trail serves as a major east-to-west connector. It stretches 26 miles from Plano to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The trail parallels DART\u2019s new Silver Line commuter rail.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1064\" data-end=\"1245\">Users will gain a continuous walking and biking route. The design prioritizes safety and regional connectivity. Therefore, travel across multiple cities becomes more accessible.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-100615\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/DART_Cotton_Belt_Logo.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"188\"   data-eio=\"p\"\/>(Source: DART\/Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1247\" data-end=\"1427\">DART currently oversees all trail construction efforts. Phase 2 includes 11 miles now under construction. This section runs from western Addison to Plano\u2019s Shiloh Road Station.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1429\" data-end=\"1621\">The new funding supports Phase 3A construction. That segment connects Cypress Waters, Addison, and Downtown Carrollton stations. These stops are part of the Silver Line\u2019s 10-station route.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1623\" data-end=\"1777\">Silver Line service began in October. Phase 3A construction is expected to start by mid-2027. The timeline depends on final planning and coordination.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1779\" data-end=\"1966\">Kevin Kokes praised the state\u2019s support for the project. He represents the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Accordingly, the trail strengthens access to jobs and education.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1968\" data-end=\"2140\">The route follows the historic Cotton Belt Railway corridor. This line once operated between Texas and St. Louis. Today, the trail preserves that transportation legacy.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2142\" data-end=\"2320\">The project supports a broader regional vision. NCTCOG leads efforts connecting cities through shared-use paths. Other initiatives include the developing DFW Discovery Trail.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2322\" data-end=\"2493\">That corridor will span 60 miles across several cities. Together, these projects enhance mobility and quality of life. Ultimately, residents gain safer travel choices.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2495\" data-end=\"2682\">Beyond this award, the Commission funded additional projects. Nearly $30 million supported six other regional efforts. Statewide, Texas invested $285 million in active transportation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ARLINGTON \u2014 State funding is advancing the Cotton Belt Trail toward completion.The Texas Transportation Commission awarded DART $25&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":458581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-458580","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-texas","11":"tag-tx","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115748371571706451","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}