Work on the 183A Toll has been underway since 2005. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority split the project in three phases, building each based on demand caused by rapidly growing communities. Compare each phase of construction below.
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
1431
• Cost: $238 million
• Cost: $105 million • Construction timeline: March 2010-April 2012 • Project length: 5 miles • Miles of shared-use path: 7 miles
• Cost: $259 million • Construction timeline: April 2021-early 2025 • Project length: 5.3 miles • Miles of shared-use path: 7 miles • Cost of tolls along full phase: N/A
29
HERO WAY
183
• Construction timeline: March 2005- March 2007 • Project length: 11 miles • Miles of shared-use path: 0 miles
183A TOLL
183
183A TOLL
183
183A TOLL
183
E. WHITESTONE BLVD.
• Cost of tolls along full phase: $2.49
• Cost of tolls along full phase: $1.29
45
N
N
N
SOURCE: CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY COMMUNITY IMPACT
183 is our main thoroughfare, so every- one is going to be dumping onto that,” said Kat Howell, a long-term Leander resident and town historian. “Expand- ing that direction is an absolute must.” Mapping it out Phase 1 of the 183A Toll project system from RM 620 to RM 1431 was completed in 2007. The 5-mile Phase 2 extension from Cedar Park to Hero Way in Leander opened in 2012. “The rst plans for [183A] were put on the map in 1985. … It took 22 years to get to that rst phase,” Long said. “The second phase was completed six or seven years ahead of schedule because of the demand.” Since the 183A project began, sub- stantial commercial and residential growth has occurred along that corri- dor, said Mike Sexton, acting director of engineering at the Mobility Authority. On US 183 near the San Gabriel River in Leander, tra c volumes were 18,400 a day in 2011, according to Texas Department of Transportation data.
started, but construction on the shared-use path spanning from Hero Way to Seward Junction Loop remains to be done. Sexton said a lot of the impacts of the work are minimized because the toll road is being built between two exist- ing frontage roads. Before opening the extension, the Mobility Authority will determine toll rates based on factors such as demand and the agency’s nancial obligations for construction and maintenance of the road. Williamson County has spoken to the Mobility Authority about the possibility of an additional extension, should the growth in the area continue. “Transportation planning is a mar- athon, not a sprint; it is sometimes 20-plus years from the time you plan something until you actually start construction on it,” Long said. “Get- ting those plans in place as soon as we can is vital if we want to be pre- pared for the future.”
This number increased to 40,209 cars a day in 2021, a 118.5% jump. On 183A from Hero Way to Bryson Ridge Trail, tra c is predicted to increase from 22,200 vehicles per day in 2016 to 64,800 in 2042, according to an environmental study conducted by the Mobility Authority. From Bryson Ridge Trail to Hwy. 29, it’s projected to increase from 33,800 to 92,300 during the same timeframe. “Any improvements that can and will be done to … [US] 183 will help hopefully alleviate some of that traf- c,” Liberty Hill City Administrator Paul Brandenburg said. Liberty Hill Director of Planning Jerry Millard said he foresees increased economic development happening as a result of the new toll road. “You have a high-tra c corridor; I think that’s what businesses are look- ing for,” he said. From 2007-18, property values along the 183A Toll grew by more than $1.2 billion, a 171% increase, according to Mobility Authority data.
Additionally, sales taxes collected within a half mile of 183A increased by 137% from 2010-17 to $2.9 million. Leander Economic Development Director Randall Malik said having frontage roads allows the city better access to development tracts right o 183A, which attracts developers. The latest extension The Mobility Authority is conducting construction along the entire length of the new extension simultaneously. Drill shafts and bridge columns are nearly complete, Mobility Authority o cials said, and the remaining work includes building retaining walls and placing bridge beams. Five bridges carrying 183A and one overpass will be built along the 5.3-mile extension. Hwy. 29 is the only intersection that will allow the extended 183A tolled lanes to travel under a new bridge at Hwy. 29. Tunneling work is being con- ducted to allow for this. Work on a new pedestrian bridge over the San Gabriel River has
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WE’RE ON THE ROADS AGAIN! The City of Austin is improving hundreds of streets this summer. Visit austintexas.gov/streetmaintenance to see if your street is scheduled to be resurfaced and to fill out our street maintenance survey.
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CEDAR PARK FAR NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION • MAY 2023
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