Sacramento got its first look Saturday at plans to extend the city’s Regional Transit light rail lines, carrying passengers from downtown Sacramento to the Sacramento International Airport.

At an open house on the project’s draft environmental impact report, attendees at Sacramento’s Inderkum High School got the chance to check out displays and talk with project team members about the 13-mile, 14-station light rail transit corridor expansion, which would run from downtown to the airport.

The extension would service areas earmarked for heavy development, including the downtown railyards project and the Richards Boulevard redevelopment area as well as areas of North and South Natomas.

Sacramento County Supervisor and RT Board member Roger Dickinson said original plans to complete the project by 2028 were streamlined, putting the construction on track for a possible 2017 debut.

“Looking right at the schedule gets us at the airport at 2017, so this is a significant change,” Dickinson said. “And extending service to Richards Boulevard by 2010, which is much sooner than we thought possible.”

[tags] Sacramento, Airport, SMF, light rail, RT [/tags]