Stories by Nathan Bernier, KUT
Chris Riley, former Austin City Council member and urbanist, dies at 60
Chris Riley, who served as a City Council member from 2009 to 2015, died Sunday after a battle with cancer. A native Austinite, Riley was known as a fierce advocate for bike infrastructure and denser housing at a time when…
City Council • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jul 30, 2024
Cap Metro stops shift to all-electric bus fleet
Capital Metro is slamming the brakes on an ambitious goal of transitioning to an all-electric bus fleet, citing problems with the range of battery-electric buses. Austin voters were promised a transit system with exclusively electric vehicles when they authorized a…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jul 26, 2024
Work to build 'wishbone' bridge begins, 18-month detour ahead
Construction starts today on a pedestrian bridge that will stitch together the biggest gap in the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail around Lady Bird Lake. Dubbed the “wishbone” bridge – the first of its kind in Austin – the $25…
Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jul 1, 2024
Austin airport is getting new runway safety tech that could have prevented near-miss
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will have crucial new runway safety equipment installed by the end of the month. Federal investigators say the technology could have prevented a near-miss between two planes that could have killed 131 people last year. The Federal Aviation Administration…
Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jun 14, 2024
Traffic signals to be activated this month at I-35 and Fourth Street
Long-awaited traffic signals have been installed at Interstate 35 and Fourth Street – one of the most popular ways to walk from one side of the highway to the other – and are scheduled to be activated this month. The…
Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jun 7, 2024
TxDOT argues in court that I-35 never caused racial discrimination – contradicting TxDOT
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is arguing in federal court that Interstate 35 didn’t unfairly disadvantage Black or Latino Austinites, contradicting the state agency’s own historical assessments of the highway that opened in 1962. “Defendant specifically denies the allegations…
Courts • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jun 4, 2024
Subscribe to our newsletter
Wheatsville to close Guadalupe Street store that opened in 1981
Wheatsville Food Co-op – a local, member-owned natural food store operating in Austin since 1976 – plans to close its location on Guadalupe Street and focus on building smaller stores. In a special edition of Wheatsville’s newsletter, General Manager Bill Bickford…
Austin • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • May 23, 2024
Funding freeze for I-35 expansion denied in heated CAMPO vote
An attempt to freeze funding for the Interstate 35 expansion through Central Austin until the project’s impact on air quality can be more fully assessed was easily defeated Monday in a vote by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s planning…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • May 14, 2024
UT pledges $13.5 million to cover I-35 from Dean Keeton to 15th Street
The University of Texas is making a $13.5 million down payment to cover Interstate 35 from 15th Street to Dean Keeton, a feat that will be made possible by a state project to widen and lower the highway through Central Austin.…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • May 13, 2024
Legal showdown threatens to end Austin's light-rail plans
Austin’s voter-backed transit expansion faced a critical legal test Wednesday inside a courtroom on Guadalupe Street. Seated in front of a marble wall and flanked by Texas and U.S. flags, Travis County Judge Eric Shepperd presided as attorneys in dark…
Courts • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Apr 26, 2024
Austin's airport is getting a new concourse and 20 more gates but not until the 2030s
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) is gearing up to add at least 20 new gates, expanding capacity at the overcrowded airport as it struggles to serve millions more passengers each year than it was designed to handle. The planned gates will…
Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Apr 16, 2024
New federal cash paves way for East Austin’s ‘wishbone’ bridge over Lady Bird Lake
Facing a steep climb in costs for a long-planned pedestrian bridge on the eastern edge of Austin’s most popular trail, the city has finally found a path forward with a $4 million cash infusion from the federal government. The new money will…
