The Texas Transportation Commission voted on Thursday to give cross-state truckers extra incentive to avoid Austin’s notoriously congested stretch of Interstate 35. With only one dissenting voice, the five-person commission – a board of gubernatorial appointees that oversees the Texas Department of Transportation – gave the green light to a temporary discount program to lure […]
Roads
Posted inRoads
Massive road expansion bears down on Austin’s east side
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority will officially turn the dirt next week on one of the largest locally financed infrastructure projects in the region’s history. Unlike other CTRMA projects – including the MoPac Improvement Project, MoPac South and State Highway 45 Southwest – the 183 South Project has largely progressed with little public controversy. […]
Posted inRoads
What is up with Austin’s traffic signals?
This story is part of KUT’s ATXplained series, which solicits story topics from listeners and investigates those that get the most online votes from the public. The winning topic for this segment was: traffic light synchronization. Picture it: You’re idling at a red light. Maybe it seems like other drivers are getting all the green, […]
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CAMPO board approves sizable cost increase for 183
The cost of a large expansion of U.S. Highway 183 in Northwest Austin officially nearly tripled on Monday night. At its monthly meeting, the Transportation Policy Board of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization voted to amend its long-range plan to increase the price of the 183 North Mobility Project from $225.7 million to $650 […]
Posted inRoads, Transit, Transportation
Mobility Committee considers options for transportation bond
Every member of City Council, including Mayor Steve Adler, turned up Wednesday afternoon for a discussion held by the Mobility Committee on a potential transportation bond election. They heard a slate of possibilities for action on a potential transportation bond, including one that could culminate in a 2016 ballot question. Robert Goode, assistant city manager […]
Posted inMonitor News & Media, Radio, Roads, Transportation
Austin Monitor Radio: ATD’s Jim Dale
The Austin Transportation Department’s Jim Dale joins Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin to talk about the junction of technology, transit, and road planning. Austin Monitor Radio is brought to you by Austin Water. Program is embedded below: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/243541326″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inRoads
Austinites sound off on MoPac South
Austin-area elected officials, advocates and community members gathered at Austin High School on Monday for a forum on the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s proposed MoPac South tolled expansion. The event revealed a general dissatisfaction and frustration with the available options. “The best of these proposals don’t provide a direct benefit to Austin High or […]
Posted inRoads
Mobility authority to unveil MoPac South options
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority has announced that it will roll out a slew of new MoPac South alternatives online on Oct. 21 in preparation for an open house on Nov. 10 at the Palmer Events Center. Members of the public will be able to provide comments on the alternatives as part of the […]
Posted inRoads
Alternative to MoPac “double-deck” being studied
In the wake of public outcry against a proposal to add elevated lanes to MoPac Expressway over Lady Bird Lake and Zilker Park, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is considering an alternative that the Austin Transportation Department first put forward in May. The staff alternative cuts out a “double-deck” design and a southbound flyover […]
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CTRMA approves plush FY 2016 budget
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority board of directors unanimously accepted the 2016 fiscal year budget Wednesday, and it is expecting to have about 123 percent of operating expenditures in reserves by June 30 next year. Chief Financial Officer Bill Chapman said CTRMA is projecting about a 21 percent increase in total revenue compared to […]
Posted inRoads
CTRMA hears SH45 SW impact may be overblown
While many public entities have already voiced their concerns about State Highway 45 Southwest’s possible environmental consequences, a consultant with the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority said the anxiety might be misplaced. At Wednesday’s regular meeting, Michael Barrett presented CTRMA’s board members with an overview of 20 years’ worth of highway stormwater runoff data in Austin. Barrett […]
Posted inRoads, Transportation
Website hack shines light on Project Connect
Project Connect, the grand vision for high-capacity transit in Central Texas, has spent a good chunk of 2015 completely out of sight. However, a top Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority official assured the Austin Monitor on Thursday that it’s just temporarily lying fallow after its roads-and-rail bond referendum went off the tracks in November. Todd Hemingson, Capital Metro’s […]