Transportation
BY HALEY MCLEOD & BEN THOMPSON
South MoPac toll expansion set as priority The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority approved a list of priority projects—including the MoPac South toll extension—as part of its five-year capital improvement plan and budget for fiscal year 2025-26. The action taken Outlined in the general fund allocations, the Mobility Authority included design and engineer- ing funding for: • MoPac South express lanes at $3.69 million • Ronald Reagan managed lanes at $1 million • 183A Toll added capacity at $1.27 million • 290E extension at $7.5 million Things to consider The toll agency has faced criticism in the past for its claims about the amount of time commuters
Changes to lanes could reduce crashes A resident transportation advisory body suggested tightening lane widths on some of the city’s busiest roads, with the intent of reducing speeds and crashes along the corridors. The big picture Members of the Urban Transportation Commission unanimously voted July 1 to lower Austin’s recommended lane widths in the city’s street design guidebook. Commission Vice Chair Spencer Schum- acher said the proposal was based on findings by the National Association of City Transportation Officials and research from Johns Hopkins University pointing to the benefits of narrower roads. He also said less room for vehicle travel could also leave more room for new public amenities.
MoPac South
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save by the construction of an express lane. Regional traffic studies indicate there is a roughly five-minute difference in travel time should nothing be done to the current structure of MoPac, called the no-build option. Board members also approved an agreement with the Center for Transportation Research at The University of Texas at Austin to provide independent peer review of a new traffic analysis studying the modifications to traffic patterns in the downtown area adjacent to the northern limits of the MoPac South project.
IZARD OF OZ
ZACH360 IN THE TOPFER AUGUST 13–SEPTEMBER 21, 2025 ZACHTHEATER.ORG/OZ | 512.476.0541 x1
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SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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