Stories by Nathan Bernier, KUT
Cap Metro should have stopped bus service sooner during winter storm, unreleased after-action report says
During last February’s deadly winter storm, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers sheltered shivering Austinites and drove dialysis patients along treacherous roads to lifesaving treatments. But the agency had unrealistic expectations of how long it could operate in the worsening conditions,…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jan 11, 2022
Internal memo reveals TxDOT’s latest changes to I-35 expansion plans
Lowering Interstate 35 under more cross streets including Holly Street and Woodland Avenue, increasing the number of pedestrian crossings and reconfiguring downtown frontage roads are among the changes to TxDOT’s I-35 widening project that are outlined in a new internal…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jan 10, 2022
Travis County commissioners tear into MoPac South toll lane project
A revived proposal to extend toll lanes on MoPac Expressway from Lady Bird Lake to Slaughter Lane is coming under fire from Travis County commissioners apprehensive about the project and how it’s being presented to the public. Commissioners voted unanimously…
Roads • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jan 6, 2022
Should buses be allowed on a new light-rail bridge over Lady Bird Lake?
Local officials overseeing Austin’s $7 billion expansion of public transit plan to launch an international competition to solicit designs for a light-rail bridge over Lady Bird Lake. Among the many questions swirling around the look and purpose of the structure,…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Dec 9, 2021
Capital Metro drivers and mechanics to vote this week on pay boost
The $1 trillion infrastructure bill being signed into law by President Biden has thrown a lifeline to Austin-area transit operator Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has struggled for months to recruit enough bus operators to maintain service. This week, the…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Nov 15, 2021
Government leaders delay key vote on roles around multibillion-dollar Project Connect transit expansion
Three layers of government scheduled to approve a crucial document for the city’s $7.1 billion expansion of public transit have delayed the vote to another day, because the meeting went too long. Austin City Council along with the governing boards of the…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Nov 1, 2021
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Leaders to cement Austin's multibillion-dollar transit rollout amid concerns from local advocates
Almost one year after Austin voters authorized the $7.1 billion expansion of public transit known as Project Connect, three layers of local government are scheduled today to finalize details of how the massive buildout of transportation infrastructure should be developed. The…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Oct 29, 2021
Montopolis Bridge in East Austin could get $7 million in amenities and visual improvements
An 83-year-old East Austin bridge with a view of the downtown skyline could get some major aesthetic upgrades under a project being considered by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. The Montopolis Bridge was opened to traffic in 1938 to replace an…
Planning • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Oct 5, 2021
Legal battle looms over Austin airport's plans to demolish South Terminal
The private company that runs the South Terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport – a separate three-gate facility where discount airlines Allegiant and Frontier operate – says it was not consulted over plans to demolish the terminal as part of a…
Transportation • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Sep 14, 2021
Capital Metro board votes to establish transit police force
The board governing the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted overwhelmingly Monday to move forward with establishing a transit police department. The process is expected to take more than 18 months and will include outreach to skeptical members of the public.…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Aug 31, 2021
Underground light-rail tunnel could be more than a mile longer than expected
Austin’s multibillion-dollar transit expansion will require extending an underground light-rail tunnel from Auditorium Shores to as far south as Lively Middle School on South Congress Avenue. The change could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but transit planners vow to work it…
Transit • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jul 23, 2021
Austin's downtown rail plans shifted after bill allowing transit under parks failed to pass
The crown jewel of Austin’s $7 billion transit expansion is the city’s first-ever underground light rail system through the middle of downtown, a state-of-the-art transit corridor down Fourth Street bookended by Republic Square Park on the west and Brush Square…
