TRANSPORTATION UPDATES
COMPILED BY DARCY SPRAGUE & BEN THOMPSON
RAIL REVISION The city of Austin, Austin Transit Partnership and Capital Metro officials approved a revised light rail plan. Phase 1
Officials approve initial Project Connect light rail route Austin City Council, the Austin Transit Partnership board and the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Author- ity board signed off on a revised plan for Project Connect’s initial light rail lines this spring. The board of the ATP, the entity created in 2020 to manage Project Connect’s rollout, accepted the plans May 24 while council and CapMetro leaders voted in early June. The action clears the way for final development of the transit system outline. “The approval of the Austin light rail implementation plan is a huge step toward getting us to the day when we can start building,” Mayor Kirk Watson said June 1. The inaugural light rail network that local leaders have now accepted is scaled back from the version presented to Austinites in 2020. It includes fewer stations, only one lake crossing, no downtown subway and miles less track overall. It will cover about 10 miles at street level with 15 stations between 38th Street to the north, Yellow Jacket Lane to the east, and Oltorf Street to the south. The initial investment is expected to cost between $4.5 billion and $4.8 billion sourced from local tax collec- tions and anticipated federal funding. If more funds become available in Phase One, rail lines could stretch to the Crestview area and the airport.
ONGOING PROJECTS
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AIRPORT BLVD.
AZIE MORTON RD.
Future extension Phase 1 priority extension
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ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF JUNE 20. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT CTANEWS@COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM. South Lamar Boulevard. Crews will also add additional vehicle lanes at the intersections of South Lamar and Azie Morton, upgrade bicycle lanes and pedestrian crossings, and relocate bus stops. Barton Springs Road changes The Austin Transportation and Public Works Department has reduced Bar- ton Springs Road to one lane in each direction from South Lamar Boulevard to Azie Morton Road as part of a one- year pilot program to reduce crashes. According to a June 1 memo sent from Richard Mendoza, interim director of transportation and public works, to interim Assistant City Manager Robert Goode, the plan includes reducing the roadway to one lane each direction for vehicles from Azie Morton Road and
GUADALUPE ST.
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S. CONGRESS AVE.
COLORADO RIVER
PLEASANT VALLEY RD.
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MONTOPOLIS DR.
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YELLOW JACKET LN.
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SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION • JUNE 2023
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