Supporters of the State Highway 45 Southwest toll road project showed up in the of hundreds Tuesday night at a Texas Department of Transportation public hearing on the project’s draft environmental impact statement. While vocal opponents of the project – including the City of Austin and Save Our Springs Alliance – denouncing the draft’s conclusions […]
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 inDevelopment, Environment, Local Government, Transportation
Aquifer district staff critical of SH45 SW environmental study
The staff of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District is expressing strong doubts about the science and data behind a proposed environmental impact statement for State Highway 45 Southwest. In their review, district staff calls the information in the draft document “incomplete and deficient,” and recommend that state officials go back to the drawing […]
Posted inLocal Government, Transportation
City asks TxDOT to stop SH45SW environmental impact statement
City Manager Marc Ott has asked the Texas Department of Transportation to withdraw its current draft environmental impact statement of State Highway 45 Southwest and suspend its technical review. In making the request, Ott cited three “pending critical environmental studies,” which the city believes must be considered in the evaluation of the impact the road […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Politics
Leffingwell clashes with Morrison, Tovo on his position on SH45 SW
A testy exchange between Mayor Lee Leffingwell and several members at Tuesday’s Austin City Council work session put deep divisions about the proposed State Highway 45 Southwest on full display. Leffingwell found himself in the hot seat when colleagues asked him how he’d vote if the highway appeared on the agenda of the Balcones […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Politics, Transportation
Riley, Cole continue to oppose SH45 SW in CAMPO’s 2040 Plan
Austin Council Member Chris Riley and Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole voiced continued opposition to State Highway 45 Southwest toll road project at the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Board meeting Monday. Riley and Cole opposed including SH45 SW in the CAMPO 2040 Plan. Riley was carrying Council Member Bill Spelman’s proxy and […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government, Transportation
Hays County Commissioner says plans for SH 45 SW ‘done deal’
Construction on the estimated $100 million State Highway 45 Southwest toll road connecting northern Hays County to southwest Austin is expected early next year. “It’s been in the works for 26 years now,” Hays County Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones said. “I’ve been involved with it since I became commissioner three years ago; and when […]
Posted inLocal Government, Transportation
CAMPO ponders some 800 projects for 2040 Transportation Plan
A massive list of proposed transportation projects filled out a packed agenda at Monday night’s meeting of theCapital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Board. More than 800 proposed transportation projects for the region filled 36 pages of the meeting agenda. Each project, including actions like lane-widening and new sidewalks, was submitted by CAMPO’s […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Politics, Transportation
Critics say taxpayers, not drivers will have to pay for SH45 SW
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority says a preliminary Traffic and Revenue Forecast for the planned State Highway 45 Southwest it released recently will stand as the final report, showing that the road project is financially feasible. But critics of the project say the numbers in the report just don’t add up. The Capitol Area […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Government, Transportation
SH45 SW opponents say roadway would cause damage to aquifer
State officials expect to have an environmental impact study of the proposed four-lane State Highway 45 Southwest ready for public review within the next two months. Challengers of the toll road plan say it would expose the Barton Springs zone of the Edwards Aquifer and natural features above it to damage and pollutants, and do […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Politics, Transportation
Travis Commissioners vote to spend $15 million on SH45 SW
The Travis County Commissioners Court approved spending $15 million in county funds Tuesday toward a plan to extend the southwest portion of State Highway 45 from the end of MoPac Boulevard to FM 1626. The vote fulfilled Travis County’s part of a plan to accelerate construction of the road by the end of this year […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Politics, Transportation
SOS files criminal charge against Daugherty over SH45 SW information
Bill Bunch, executive director of the Save Our Springs Alliance, filed a criminal complaint Monday against Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty. The complaint signed by Bunch was filed on behalf of SOS with County Attorney David Escamilla. SOS alleges that the Precinct 3 Commissioner destroyed, removed or altered public information in his possession related […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Government, Transportation
Battle over SH45SW features argument between Biscoe and Bunch
The never-ending case of SH 45 Southwest has dogged County Judge Sam Biscoe for the past 25 years of his public life. But at Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting – with his December retirement date in sight – the normally reserved Biscoe publicly engaged several of his critics over the project. The proposed 3.6-mile, four-lane […]