Austin’s most famous trail is on track to get a $25 million upgrade. A new boardwalk is planned for the south shore of Lady Bird Lake, replacing a cramped section of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail between South First Street and Congress Avenue. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is paying […]
Nathan Bernier, KUT
Posted inAISD
Almost $300 million in public property is at stake as Austin ISD looks to close 13 schools
If the Austin Independent School District closes 13 schools as planned, what happens next could remove some of the most valuable public land nestled among residential neighborhoods across the city. The Austin ISD board — made up of nine elected officials — meets Thursday for the first time since staff unveiled the school consolidation plan last Friday. AISD leaders […]
Posted inRoads
Behind those walls along I-35, TxDOT is building one of the largest tunnels Austin’s ever seen
If you’ve been driving on I-35 through Central Austin, you may have noticed tall construction walls going up at certain points along the highway and wondered what’s going on behind them. Those barriers are designed to block the sound of machines digging deep holes called drop shafts for one of the largest tunnel projects in […]
Posted inTransportation
Austin airport expansion to get even bigger under new deal approved by Council
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, already bursting at the seams, will see its largest-ever expansion start to take final shape after a City Council vote. For travelers, the decision will lead to more gates, more terminal space and possibly higher ticket prices. Council’s action on Thursday gives airport staff the green light to finalize a long-term deal with […]
Posted inTransportation
FAA denies request to increase safety restrictions in skies above Austin’s airport
The Federal Aviation Administration is rejecting a request to upgrade Austin’s airspace to the same level surrounding the nation’s busiest airports. Class B airspace — one notch above Austin’s Class C airspace — is highly regulated to reduce the risk of midair collisions. Pilots must follow stricter rules, and air traffic controllers have greater authority. A reclassification […]
Posted inAISD
Austin ISD gets a ‘C’ in latest school ratings. Here’s how to find your campus’ grade.
Following the release of long-awaited A-F accountability ratings from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Austin Independent School District Superintendent Matias Segura said modest improvements in scores show the district is making progress. “There’s obviously a lot of work to get to do with the number of D’s and F’s that we have, but when you look at […]
Posted inRoads
New concrete barricades coming to Austin’s Sixth Street as part of safety plan
Starting today, city crews will begin replacing the water-filled barricades on East Sixth Street with concrete barriers. The swap is one step in Austin’s effort to tame the famously rowdy strip and create a more welcoming district that draws a broader age range and more spending, even if not everyone’s ready to sanitize “Dirty Sixth.” The new concrete barricades […]
Posted inRoads
Lady Bird Lake trail will detour during I-35 construction, but the details remain unclear
A shaded stretch of Austin’s most heavily traveled trail is about to become a construction site for up to eight years. But with days to go before equipment is moved beneath I-35, details of a years-long detour for the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail remain up in the air. The 10-mile-long Butler […]
Posted inRoads
Why Austin keeps turning intersections into roundabouts
You’re driving through Austin and come to an intersection with something unfamiliar in the middle. No stop sign. No traffic light. Just a giant concrete circle. Do you yield? Gun it? If you’ve wondered this, you’re not alone. More of Austin’s intersections are being turned into roundabouts as part of a safety strategy. In theory, […]
Posted inBicycles
New MoKan Trailhead offers a rest stop along East Austin’s expanding trail network
A dusty, neglected patch of land wedged between Bolm Road and Union Pacific’s train tracks has been converted to a trailhead, offering a place to sit and a fountain that can fill water bottles and offer dogs something to drink. The triangular trailhead opened quietly this spring along the Mokan Trail, which runs parallel to a […]
Posted inTransportation
Austin’s ‘dire’ air traffic controller shortage raises risk of flight delays
A shortage of air traffic controllers at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) has increasingly forced federal officials to slow the pace of arriving flights, at times holding planes on the ground in other cities to avoid overwhelming the tower. The delays — known as “ground delay programs” — don’t happen every day. But they were triggered […]
Posted inRoads
Austin moves forward with plan for parks over I-35
Austin City Council has approved paying for infrastructure that would allow for parks over I-35, a plan made possible by a state project to widen and lower the freeway. Council members voted Thursday to pay $104 million for support columns that would allow decks to be installed over I-35 from Cesar Chavez to Seventh streets and […]