Austin unveils how light-rail could change the city in new report with detailed maps

The curtain is finally lifting on Austin’s long-planned light-rail system, as a newly released report from the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) reveals a more detailed vision for the 9.8-mile route.

For the first time, Austinites can view block-by-block maps, see specific station locations and learn more about both the benefits and costs of the largest transit project in Austin history.

The newly released document is known as a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). It evaluates everything from noise and traffic impacts during construction to effects on the environment and the economy. (If you’re interested, we merged the 53 PDFs that make up the report into a single 16,000-page, 605MB file.)

The DEIS is required for ATP to qualify for federal funding. The Project Connect plan approved by voters in 2020 relies on the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to pay for up to half the $7.1 billion rail project.

“This draft EIS is a big milestone,” said Jennifer Pyne, an ATP executive vice president who oversees planning and engagement with the FTA. “It’s an important step along the way towards meeting the requirements for federal funding. So we’re excited.”

The mega-document – months in the making – comes at a pivotal time for the voter-approved transit expansion branded Project Connect. Opponents are attempting to derail the funding mechanism in state court, arguing it violates state law. The Texas Legislature, which convenes this week for its once-every-two-years session, could pass a law that would effectively kill Austin’s light-rail plan.

The vision outlined in the DEIS depicts a three-pronged system extending north to 38th Street, east to Yellow Jacket Lane near the intersection of Riverside Drive and Ben White Boulevard and south to Oltorf Street. Fifteen stations would be constructed.

Electric trains powered by overhead wires would run at street level every five minutes during peak hours in the downtown and north sections. That would drop to 7.5 minutes in off-hours. The eastern and southern segments would have peak-hour service every 10 minutes, with trains running every 15 minutes during less busy times of day.

The latest plans include proposed changes to station locations. A new station would be added at Wooldridge Square at Guadalupe and 10th streets. The station was included to reduce the distance between downtown stops and offer transit service near a cluster of state government buildings.

A station previously proposed at Faro Drive would be moved to Grove Boulevard, closer to Austin Community College and a planned affordable housing development.

A stop planned at Travis Heights would be omitted. ATP says the hilly area would make it more complicated to build a station. It would also require seizing 2 acres from Norwood Park. The 10-acre park, which includes a popular off-leash dog area, is already losing half an acre temporarily for TxDOT construction crews working on the Interstate 35 expansion.

A station that had been proposed inside a building at Third Street and Trinity, next to the Austin Convention Center, would be moved out onto the street on Trinity between East Cesar Chavez Street and Second Street. ATP says it’s still considering the off-street option but hasn’t reached a deal with the property developer.

Pedestrian and bike paths would be installed next to the tracks. Along Riverside Drive, a tree-lined pathway would run in the middle of the street with additional pedestrian crossings to increase access to the trail.

One of the most expensive components of the project would be the construction of an elevated light-rail bridge over Lady Bird Lake, which would include pedestrian and bike paths. To make way for the bridge, ATP would have to tear down the Waller Creek Boathouse and relocate it elsewhere. It’s the only community facility that would be displaced by the project.

The light-rail tracks would remain elevated after crossing Lady Bird Lake, as illustrated in the earlier map above. Heading west, the tracks would not touch ground until just before reaching South Congress Avenue. To the east, the elevated section would continue along Riverside Drive and meet up with the top of the hill near Travis Heights Boulevard.

As many as 64 businesses would be displaced by the transit project. Four single-family homes would be razed. State and federal laws require displaced property owners to be compensated, but the cash payments often fall short of covering all financial and emotional costs.

ATP’s DEIS does not include any list of the specific businesses or addresses that would be displaced.

In an interview prior to the release of the DEIS, an ATP official confirmed that an almost century-old hamburger restaurant on Guadalupe Street in West Campus that had previously been threatened with relocation could stay.

“We are not impacting the structure at Dirty Martin’s or any of the buildings in that section of the corridor between 27th and just a little south of Fruth Street,” said Lindsay Wood, ATP’s executive vice president of engineering and construction.

The proposed demolition of the Dirty Martin’s building became a lightning rod for opponents of the transit expansion, who launched an online petition to save the historic restaurant that gained more than 24,000 signatures. Organizers held meetings, news conferences and rallies at the home of the Kumbak Burger. Dirty Martin’s is among the plaintiffs suing ATP and the city of Austin over the project.

A third of the businesses being displaced would be pushed out by the construction of a 62-acre operations and maintenance facility (OMF) near U.S. Highway 183 and State Highway 71.

The OMF site is zoned for commercial and industrial uses, ATP says, but it’s about 180 feet from a residential neighborhood. Special dampening tracks would be installed to reduce vibrations to a nearby apartment complex and hotel, ATP says.

The light-rail project could remove more than 600 on-street parking spaces, mostly from Guadalupe Street, Lavaca Street and South Congress Avenue. ATP would add back some 450 parking spaces spread across three park-and-rides at the end of each line.

A park-and-ride garage with 300 parking spots would be built at the corner of West 38th and Guadalupe Streets, requiring the expropriation of three businesses. A 100-space park-and-ride would be installed near the Oltorf Station. At Yellow Jacket Station, a 150-space park-and-ride is planned. The latter two parking lots wouldn’t require any forced relocations, ATP says.

The economic benefits of the project are significant. ATP estimates construction will create more than 7,200 jobs with another 1,100 permanent positions expected when the system begins operations.

The light-rail system is also expected to boost property values near stations, provide businesses with access to a larger workforce by making it easier for employees to travel, and bring more foot traffic to stores, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Not everyone is on board with the project. The 9.8-mile route is less than half the length of what voters approved in 2020 and lacks the promised downtown subway.

The initial plan was revised because of cost concerns, and ATP says future phases will eventually extend the rail line to its full 20.2 miles. However, the property tax approved by voters will only generate enough revenue to design future expansions, not build them. Most tax revenues will go toward paying down debt and operating the system.

Critics like attorney Bill Aleshire, who has filed two lawsuits against the project, argue it represents a “bait and switch.”

“They’ve changed the plan so much, we argue they no longer have voter approval for the much smaller plan, especially if they’re going to continue to collect the entire tax increase,” Aleshire said.

His first lawsuit questions ATP’s authority to use city property taxes to pay off debts taken on to pay the high upfront costs of building light-rail. That case was combined with a lawsuit ATP filed seeking court validation that it can, in fact, issue those bonds.

The state’s attorney general has joined in the fray, fighting up to the Texas Supreme Court over the question of whether ATP has jurisdiction to file such a suit.

Aleshire’s second lawsuit, dismissed by a Travis County judge in December, argues the city miscalculated its property tax rate. Aleshire plans to ask the judge to reconsider the ruling.

Meanwhile, the Texas Legislature could pose an even greater threat. In 2023, State Rep. John Bucy III, D-Austin, used a technicality to kill a bill that would have stripped ATP of any authority to issue bonds using city tax revenue.

A similar proposal could resurface in the upcoming session.

A 60-day public comment period on the DEIS begins Friday. ATP is holding public meetings throughout January to explain the plan and take feedback. By regulation, the agency must respond to every comment submitted.

Construction could begin in 2027, with the system opening to riders by 2033, but those plans remain uncertain as legal and legislative battles continue.

This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.

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