Finding funding The total cost of all ve projects will be about $500 million. The majority of the funds come from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, with about $40 million from the 2016 Austin Mobility Bond.
Breaking up traffic The Loop 360 project may construct a diverging diamond interchange at RM 2244 and Courtyard Drive. In a diverging diamond interchange, drivers make a protected left turn instead of waiting for oncoming tra c to clear or for a left-turn signal.
Funds:
Crossing lanes Tra c signals
+
=
$40M
$460M
$500M
360
Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
Total Cost
2016 Austin Mobility Bond
Project 2: $58.7M
Project 1: $72.1M
$500M
Other projects: $369.2M
360
SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
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Economic Outlook The Economy, Austin, and 2023 Wednesday, November 16, 2022 JW Marriott - Brazos Hall, Level 2 Street project is complete, the second project is set for Courtyard Drive and RM 2222 just north of the Pennybacker Bridge, with construction planned to start in 2026. Out of the remaining four projects, Courtyard Drive/RM 2222 is the only other loop project that has funding, Wheelis said. For a project to receive funding, it must be “shovel-ready,” Short said. This means a project has gone through a feasibility study where the need is identi ed, environmental impacts are considered, and the project is pre- sented to the public. After that, utilities in the area must be relocated. Once all those steps are complete, the project is ready for construction, he said. However, funding resources are limited; if another project for a di erent roadway section in Austin is shovel-ready before a Loop 360 project, that project will get priority funding, Wheelis said. Improvements at Courtyard Drive/ RM 2222 include removing the signal on the Courtyard main lanes and replacing it with an underpass where the Loop 360 main lanes go under the cross street. RM 2222 will get a new diverging diamond interchange, or DDI, which works by shifting tra c temporarily to
After looking at car volume and dif- ferent scenarios for construction, the Loop 360 study concluded planned projects will reduce peak morning tra c to 23.6 minutes for the north- bound loop and 28 minutes for the southbound loop of the entire Loop 360 corridor. Peak evening tra c will be 23.1 minutes for the northbound loop and 24 for the southbound loop, Business owners around the Loop 360 construction hotspots had mixed feelings about the project. Cathy Conway, a broker associate for Stanberry & Associates Realtors, has an o ce and lives near Loop 360. She said her main concern is that driv- ing around the Pennybacker Bridge is already di cult, because it only has two lanes going in each direction. “In the last ve years that area has become unmanageable,” she said. “What is it going to look like when it’s under construction?” However, Conway said she believes it is a necessary project, and only wishes it had been done years ago. While some residents, such as Con- way, see the need for improvement, the study showed. Impact to residents
others are worried about the impact to businesses and transportation. Caitlin Sansing runs her family’s business, Northwest Hills Pharmacy, in Davenport Village o Loop 360. She said they can o er delivery, but they are concerned about tra c times for their drivers. “My biggest concern is for people who will have trouble getting to our pharmacy to get their medication,” Sansing said. “It’s just going to get worse before it gets better.” Anna Bauereis, executive director of Brain Balance, which has a loca- tion o Loop 360, said she did not pay too much attention to tra c until her son, 14-year-old Alexei Bauereis, was killed trying to cross the inter- section at Spicewood Springs and Rustic Rock Drive in northwest Austin in 2016. Now, she said her main con- cern is people getting safely to their destination. “There’s just more people on the roads now,” Bauereis said. “I believe TxDOT is doing this [Loop 360 proj- ect] to make the roads less congested and safer for everyone.” Looking to the future After the Westlake Drive/Cedar
the left. This allows through-tra c and left-turning tra c to proceed through the intersection simultaneously, elim- inating the need for a left-turn arrow. The third and fourth projects at Lakewood Drive/Spicewood Springs Road and MoPac to RM 2244/Bee Caves Road, respectively, are still con- tingent on funding, Wheelis said. Both projects consist of improvements at intersections by removing the tra c signals on the Loop 360 main lanes and adding overpasses at Lakewood Drive, Spicewood Springs Road and Walsh Tarlton Lane, as well as under- or overpasses at Lost Creek Boulevard and Westbank Drive. The fth project, Loop 360 at RM 2244, will involve redoing the inter- section. This will likely involve the addition of a diverging diamond inter- change, Short said. The project is still contingent on funding. “We don’t want to sugarcoat this. Anytime we start a construction proj- ect we want folks to know there are going to be tra c pattern changes and congestion,” Short said.
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LAKE TRAVIS WESTLAKE EDITION • NOVEMBER 2022
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