It was intended to start operating in 2028 between North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in eastern Durham and the UNC Medical Center in Orange County.
[2][3] Chapel Hill and Durham are the home to major academic institutions and employers in the healthcare and service industries, and are the geographically closer of three cities in the Research Triangle region.
Due to increasing traffic and development around the area, local governments and regional organizations conducted multiple studies to preserve and expand mobility between the two cities.
A study from UNC-Chapel Hill first addressed this demand in June 1987, arguing for local governments to proactively implement strategies for land use and mobility instead of reacting to changing transportation patterns.
Chapel Hill, Durham, private landowners, and the state department of transportation drafted a "corridor master plan" from 1993 to 1994, and identified "areas of congestion and methods to improve mobility" between the two cities.
[7] Using this conclusion, TTA continued to identify transit management methods and potential environmental impacts in developing the corridor, and held workshops with UNC and Duke University on those topics.
These efforts culminated with TTA formally identifying "a need for rail or bus transit fixed guideway between Durham and Chapel Hill" in its 2001 Major Investment Study (MIS).
However, BRT performed worse than light rail in "supporting compact development and economic growth, travel time savings, and the cost effectiveness of expanding long-term transit capacity".
[21] Finally, the route continued through the historic Hayti "Black Wall Street" business district before terminating at North Carolina Central University.
[24][25] Orange County's transit plan also included a provision to study the idea to extend light rail westward to the neighboring town of Carrboro between 2035 and 2045.
[31] Due to the shifting scope of the project and GoTriangle's access to funding sources, cost estimates for planning and constructing the Durham-Orange light rail regularly changed.
[32][33][34] Michael Goodmon, vice president of real estate for the local media conglomerate Capitol Broadcasting Company, and Brad Brinegar, chairman of the McKinney advertising agency, resigned from their board positions in GoTriangle's fundraising arm in November 2018.
[37] Furthermore, GoTriangle also developed additional design changes to maintain power and ambulance access, address and closely monitor noise and vibration from construction, and prevent special event traffic from being obstructed by light rail.
At the last minute, Duke also demanded an unprecedented $2 billion liability policy from GoTriangle for insurance in the event of a major incident on the line, making any reasonable agreement impossible.