Cedar Park Edition | February 2026

Life in the express lane From the cover

A closer look

About the project

who need to travel between Austin and the northwestern suburbs. Arthur Jackson, Cedar Park’s chief economic development ocer, said that the project will benet Cedar Park economically. Jackson said that congestion along the 183 corridor costs local businesses tens of millions of dollars in lost productivity each year. By reducing congestion, he said, the project will reduce those losses. He also said that the improved connectivity the project creates will help to attract new businesses to the area—and new customers to the existing businesses. “This is really support for local businesses and commercial development,” Jackson said. “Reducing that travel time really improves access and makes commercial sites along the corridor–whether it’s oce parks, retail development centers or industrial parks— more viable and attractive to those types of investments.” He explained that the construction itself was a boost for Cedar Park, as jobs were created and money was spent at local businesses. Beyond the economic benets, Jackson said he believes the project’s most important impact will be improved trac safety. “When you look at congestion and the impact that heavy trac has on accident rates and deaths, this will be a huge impact,” Jackson said.

A yearslong project to expand and improve US 183 headed toward Cedar Park is nearing completion. The last major piece, the southbound express lanes, could be open as early as March, said Mike Sexton, director of engineering for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. The northbound express lanes opened in January. The 183 North Mobility Project is an infrastructure project undertaken by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority with the goal of improving the 183 corridor along a 9-mile stretch from MoPac to SH 45. The Mobility Authority says the project “aims to improve mobility, reduce congestion and provide more reliable travel times for transit and emergency responders.” At the heart of the 183 North Mobility Project is the construction of two tolled express lanes and one additional nontolled lane in each direction, as well as a yover connection to MoPac. The project also includes building new sidewalks and shared-use paths for pedestrians and cyclists along the 183 corridor. From 2000 to 2025, the population of Cedar Park grew by about 60%, according to the city’s Development Services Department. To the north, Leander and Liberty Hill continue to see similarly explosive growth. Sexton said the project was necessary to keep up with the growing number of people

183 North Mobility Project New 183 North express lanes Express lane entrance and exit Flyover from 183 express lanes to MoPac express lanes Existing MoPac express lanes

183

183A TOLL

VD.

LAKEL

EXIT

ENTER

45 TOLL

Cedar Park

PECAN PARK BLVD.

734

RSON MILL RD.

EXIT

ENTER

MCNEIL DR.

OAK KNOLL DR.

ENTER

Great Hills

EXIT

New express lanes Northbound lane

SPICEWOOD SPRINGS RD.

ENTER

Southbound lane

Discontinuous lane Sidewalk addition

Express lane addition

Continuous lane addition

Existing

General purpose lanes

MOPAC

EXIT

360

Frontage road

North Austin

STECK AVE.

ENTER

General purpose lanes

CTRMA express lanes (tolled)

General purpose lanes

Future

EXIT

Frontage road

183

SOURCE: CENTRAL TEXAS REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITY¤COMMUNITY IMPACT

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM