The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District Board of Directors was informed of various updates to State Highway 45 Southwest at its regular meeting May 25. The high-profile transportation project, which hopes to improve mobility for the northern Hays and southern Travis county areas, is a collaborative effort between the Texas Department of Transportation, Central Texas […]
SH45SW
A controversial road project that supporters argue would ease traffic traveling through areas of far Southwest Travis and far Southeastern Hays County. Opponents argue that the environmental impact of the effort, which runs close to sensitive land, is not worth that risk. The debate over the issue goes back as far as the mid-1980s.
Posted inRoads
CTRMA board bristles on SH 45 SW, MoPac South projects
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 […]
Posted inRoads
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 […]
Posted inCourts
SOS loses bid for MoPac injunction
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would have prevented the beginning of construction on State Highway 45 Southwest. The judge ruled that the Save Our Springs Alliance and other plaintiffs in the lawsuit had failed to prove their case. He ruled that the toll road – which […]
Posted inCourts
Environmentalists win one round of SH 45 SW suit
Federal Judge Lee Yeakel has rejected arguments from the Texas Department of Transportation and the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority that would have ended a lawsuit against the two transportation agencies. The suit was filed by various environmental organizations and individuals who contend that the agencies have failed to follow federal law in their plans […]
Posted inRoads
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 […]
Posted inEnvironment
Environmental Commission pushes city to join lawsuit over SH 45 SW toll road
Citing concerns about whether a proposed state highway improvement project will contaminate Barton Springs, the Environmental Commission recommended that City Council join a lawsuit against the state agencies behind the project. The proposed toll road, which would be built between MoPac Expressway and FM 1626 and would be known as State Highway 45 SW, could […]
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 inCity Hall
Board says no to SH45 SW
Austin’s Environmental Board is giving City Council a clear message: The State Highway 45 Southwest road project should not move forward. At the board’s regular meeting Wednesday, members passed a motion declaring that they “(did) not support the building of SH45 SW as currently proposed.” Among other directives, the motion recommends that Council ask the Texas […]
Posted inEnvironment, Transportation, Travis County
County asks for ‘loop’ road project studies
Travis County is asking the area’s transportation authorities to step back and take a look at the big picture. In a controversial 2-1 vote, the Travis County Commissioners Court is asking the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority to institute broader studies. The studies would look at the effects of proposed State Highway 45 Southwest and its […]
Posted inAustin, Hays County, Roads, Transportation, Travis County
US Fish and Wildlife concerned about SH 45 SW
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sent letters to Mayor Steve Adler, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and others Wednesday, expressing concerns about the potential environmental impacts of the proposed State Highway 45 Southwest on the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan, or BCCP. Eckhardt has called for a hold on current plans for the highway. In […]
Posted inRoads, Transportation
City says SH45 SW environmental study unsound
Austin’s Environmental Board is looking at its options after hearing from city staff that the approved environmental impact study, or EIS, for State Highway 45 Southwest is not based on sound science. The EIS was prepared by TxDOT and CTRMA, with assistance from consultants. Chuck Lesniak, environmental officer with the City of Austin, presented the news […]