Dallas area rapid transit (DART) vulnerability assessment and resilience plan & innovative flood tool pilot

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded Dallas Area Rapid Transit Inc. (DART) a $950,000 project grant under the Highway Planning and Construction program (CFDA 20.205) on September 11, 2025, with a completion date of December 31, 2027. This planning grant consists of two primary components that align with the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program's funding categories for resilience planning and data tools. DART will conduct a comprehensive vulnerability assessment and develop a resilience plan for its transit system to address climate and natural hazard risks affecting the Dallas metropolitan area's multi-modal transportation infrastructure.

The project also includes development of an innovative flood tool pilot program designed to enhance DART's capacity to monitor and respond to flooding threats affecting its bus, light rail, commuter rail, and paratransit services across the 13-city service region. These planning and design activities support DART's broader mission to strengthen the sustainability and operational resilience of regional transportation infrastructure serving over 2.4 million residents across 700 square miles in the Dallas area.

Project description

The proposed project is a planning grant activity consisting of two key components that fall primarily within the "resilience planning, predesign, design, or data tools" funding category of the protect program eligible projects, but address elements of the other categories as well. Table 2 provides primary and secondary project activities relative to the available categories (excluding those specific to states and MPO's).