Northwest Austin Edition | June 2022

TRANSPORTATION UPDATES

Capital Metro board names Dottie Watkins interim CEO

ONGOING PROJECT

CEDAR ST.

45 TOLL

MOPAC

620

183

BY CHLOE YOUNG

Clarke said in the release. Watkins has been with Capital Metro since 1994 when she started as a part-time bus operator.

WESTLAKE DR.

On May 24, the Capital Metro board of directors announced Deputy CEO Dottie Watkins will become the interim CEO of the regional transit authority. “The board has worked with Dottie for a long time, and we know that she’s behind a lot of success at [Capital Metro],” said Jerey Travillion, Travis County commissioner and Capital Metro board chair, in a news release. President and CEO Randy Clarke announced earlier in May that he will be assuming the position of general manager and CEO of the Washington Metro- politan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D.C.. Watkins will take over his role this summer. “I fully support the board’s decision to name Dottie as the interim CEO of [Capital Metro],”

360

TxDOT breaks ground on Loop 360 underpass

183 North Mobility Project Nightly pavement grinding, where part of the roadway is removed to level and smooth the surface, began in April on the 183 North Mobility Project at Lakeline Drive and will continue moving southbound on US 183 over the next several months, according to the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. Phase 1 will add a new layer of pavement for a smoother ride. Timeline: January 2022-26 Cost: $612 million Funding sources: TxDOT, Mobility Authority

Dottie Watkins

BY JENNIFER SCHAEFER

The drive down Loop 360 will soon be less congested as drivers will have fewer oppor- tunities to be caught by stoplights. Ocials from the Texas Department of Transportation along with state and local ocials gathered June 1 at Riverbend Church to kick o the $72.1 million project. The project will remove trac signals and add underpasses at the intersections on Loop 360 at Westlake Drive and Cedar Street, according to a release from the department. The project is funded by TxDOT and the city of Austin’s 2016 mobility bond and is expected to be completed by mid-2025.

Working her way up the ranks, Watkins has served as deputy CEO, chief operating ocer, and vice president of bus and paratransit services. The board of directors also approved a national search to ll the position long term at its May 23 board meeting. Tawaun Cole, Capital Metro public information ocer, said there is not a set timeline as to when the position will be lled long term.

ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF JUNE 1. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT NWANEWSCOMMUNITYIMPACT.COM.

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