GoTriangle is continuing working with local universities, health care institutions, government and the private sector to continue its plans for a Light Rail that would potentially travel between Durham and Orange Counties – even while budgetary concerns remain due to a cap on light rail spending put in place by the General Assembly.

After receiving feedback from these partners on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the organization is researching the possibility of connecting the line to North Carolina Central University. According to preliminary research by GoTriangle, officials say it could be the busiest light rail stop in Durham.

Acting NCCU Chancellor Johnson O. Akinleye said in a release, “North Carolina Central University is an enthusiastic partner of GoTriangle. The possibility of connecting the light rail line to NCCU is an exciting and viable refinement to the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project.”

The project is expected to cost about $1.6 billion – 50 percent would come from the federal government, 25 percent from a local sales tax and the remaining 25 percent would come from the state.

But that state funding has been brought into question in recent years. The legislature put a $500,000 cap on light rail funding coming from the state in 2015. That $500,000 cap was repealed in this year’s budget amendment, but it was replaced by a new cap of 10 percent of the project’s overall cost.

But GoTriangle says with the support of anyone and everyone in Orange and Durham Counties, they’re hoping to develop a new plan to fully fund the project.

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