The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority board of directors bucked its agreeable reputation on Wednesday by reining in a recommendation to give Executive Director Mike Heiligenstein millions in discretionary spending powers on one project while also asking pointed questions about another. The relatively feisty meeting featured a light agenda with only a handful of votes […]
Roads
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Council members consider ways to lower neighborhood speed limits
Testimony included talk of a birthday. “Ben turned 10 on Monday at a rehabilitation facility in Dallas,” Kathy Sokolic told members of the City Council Mobility Committee on Wednesday. As we’ve chronicled before, a car hit Sokolic’s nephew, Ben, outside his home in the Mueller neighborhood in September. He survived, but his injuries have left […]
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Speed limits going down on parts of Lamar and Parmer
The Texas Department of Transportation is moving to reduce speed limits on sections of two busy roadways in Austin. At least one City Council member, however, is hoping the city can go further than what the state agency put forward in an effort to reduce driving speeds and traffic accidents. The state agency is recommending […]
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Construction set to start on SH 45 SW
A drawn-out, polarizing political battle that has kept anxious observers on the edges of their seats could be effectively settled for good on Tuesday. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority announced on Monday that crews could begin construction on the controversial State Highway 45 Southwest project this week. Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, perhaps the […]
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Work on MoPac to last into 2017
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is tooting its horn over the partial opening of a new toll lane on MoPac Expressway while also remaining cagey about the expected completion date of the entire project. At the agency’s monthly board meeting on Wednesday, staff gave a glowing report on the operations of the fresh stretch […]
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Proposal to kick cars off downtown street yields a surprise
A proposal to move cars off of two downtown blocks would have a surprising benefit to late-night congestion, according to the Austin Transportation Department. Transportation Department staff told the City Council Mobility Committee on Wednesday that accommodating the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Downtown Station expansion by shuffling operations on East Fourth and East Fifth streets […]
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$720 million mobility bond could feature hidden costs
The price tag of Austin’s second-largest transportation bond proposal ever has been pegged at $720 million, but extra costs could pile as high as $20 million if voters approve the package in November. The central piece of the plan calls for $482 million to be spent on projects along seven major corridors in town. Of […]
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TxDOT can’t participate in Balcones permit program
An official with the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan has informed the Texas Department of Transportation that the department is not allowed to participate in the BCCP permit in conjunction with its work on State Highway 45 Southwest. Carlos Swonke, director of the Environmental Affairs Division of TxDOT, sent a letter in late July to Kimberlee […]
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CTRMA gets tough with tardy MoPac contractor
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is adding some bite to its bark over the delayed MoPac Improvement Project. On Wednesday, the CTRMA’s board of directors voted unanimously to give Executive Director Mike Heiligenstein the authority to start assessing financial penalties against CH2M, the engineering firm in charge of the project. CH2M began the job […]
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The mayor’s bond proposal is the “Smart Corridor Resolution.” So, what makes a street smart?
Cars, buses and trucks idle at the four-way intersection at Guadalupe Street and West Dean Keeton Street. A horde of prospective students takes to the crosswalk, the timer counting down. Traverse this intersection long enough and you might soon understand its varied pains: lights that are never green long enough and minimal crosswalks for a […]
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Transportation Department rolls with punches at polka-dotted intersection
A small Austin Transportation Department project that attracted worldwide headlines earlier this year has had a bumpier road than originally anticipated. The polka-dotted intersection at East Sixth and Waller streets in East Austin became a minor sensation when crews first put it together back in January. The colorful design scored plaudits for keeping Austin weird […]
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East Austin superhighway breaks ground
Scores of people gathered on the northern banks of the Colorado River in East Austin on Wednesday morning to watch the ceremonial birth of a massive new roadway expansion effort. Through the distant white noise of fast-moving traffic zipping along on three overhead bridges, the crowd heard Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority officials lavish praise […]