State questions need for commuter train

If the state withdraws its 10 percent funding, it would be a major setback — and possibly the end — for the $37.6 million rail project.

The proposed rail service has struggled for years to secure political and financial support from Nashville, Wilson County, Mt. Juliet and Lebanon.

Funding for the project has always been based on a formula of 80 percent federal, 10 percent state and 10 percent local money, including a split between Davidson and Wilson County governments.

Uncertain funding has repeatedly delayed the start date, now set for August 2005. That could slip again if an additional $8 million in federal funding isn’t secured and if state financial commitments change.

However, no final decision has been made. Tennessee Department of Transportation officials said they want the project, scheduled to be the first of five rail lines in the Nashville area, to succeed.

But Gov. Phil Bredesen expressed doubt about the project in December when he said the region’s traffic problems wouldn’t be improved by anything short of a full-scale light rail system.

Bredesen called the Lebanon line “a nice demonstration project” but said he didn’t want to spend the state’s money on “that kind of thing.”

In February, TDOT Commissioner Jerry Nicely started asking tough questions about the project.

“We will declare in the next two or three or four weeks where they are on the project,” said Ed Cole, Nicely’s top public transportation aide.

The latest questions come just as initial work on the project is about to begin. The bids for track signals were awarded in the past month and major bids for track improvement are expected soon.

“If that (federal) money doesn’t happen, how do we handle payment on the next stage of construction, signal work, track improvements?” Cole said. “There’s a good amount of commitment that’s come together on this. We don’t want this project to fail.”

Cole said the review includes financial and what happens if federal money isn’t secured, management and organization of the project, ridership projections and safety during a time of increased homeland security concerns.

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Information from The Tennessean: http://www.tennessean.com