Most highway drivers resist the urge to cruise alongside a traffic jam on the route’s shoulder — it is illegal, not to mention rude. Some buses in Texas, however, may soon get a pass to jump the line. The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Board narrowly recommended Monday that the Texas Legislature pass […]
TxDOT
The transportation agency for the State of Texas.
Posted inEnvironment, Transportation, Travis County
Travis seeks delay in BSEACD-TxDOT agreement
Travis County Commissioners voted Tuesday to ask the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District board for a three-week postponement of a hearing planned this week on an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation over environmental standards for the construction of State Highway 45 Southwest. Commissioners also voted to work with the parties to clear […]
Posted inEnvironment, Roads, Transportation
Aquifer district cancels SH45 meeting with TxDOT
The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District postponed a planned meeting Thursday at which the district’s board planned to consider a controversial agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation regarding construction of State Highway 45 Southwest. Aquifer board officials said they called off the meeting because of a posting error and rescheduled it for next […]
Posted inAustin, Environment, Roads, Transportation, Travis County
County seeks federal guidance on SH45 SW project
Travis County is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for “guidance” on how to avoid environmental damage to the sensitive Flint Ridge Cave during the construction and operation of the proposed State Highway 45 Southwest toll road. County officials are requesting that representatives from Fish and Wildlife meet in January with the parties responsible […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government
City purchase of Bull Creek property a no-go
After getting word that a last-ditch effort to purchase the property was not going to work, and without the funds to purchase the land outright, City Council abandoned plans Thursday to purchase 75 acres at Bull Creek and 45th Street. In a vote of 2-5, a resolution failed that would have signaled the city’s intent […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council members still skeptical about SH45 SW
City Council members raised several questions during Tuesday’s work session about the effectiveness and environmental sensitivity of the Texas Department of Transportation’s recommended route for State Highway 45 Southwest. The conversation took place as part of a joint briefing by the Transportation and Watershed Protection departments on a report that Council requested in a May […]
Posted inTransportation
TxDOT data shows congestion on Austin roads
New figures released by the Texas Department of Transportation quantify what anyone who drives in the Austin area instinctively knows – traffic congestion on several local roads and highways is as bad as anywhere in the state and getting worse. One stretch, Interstate 35 through downtown between the U.S. 290 intersection and Lady Bird Lake, […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council committee questions plans for Oak Hill Parkway project update
Austin City Council members questioned Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority and Texas Department of Transportation representatives last week about their decision not to advance elements of a resident-supported plan to reconstruct the congested U.S. Highway 290 and State Highway 71 intersection in Oak Hill. The discussion took place during the regular meeting of the Council […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government, Transportation
TxDOT won’t withdraw draft of SH45 SW environmental study
The Texas Department of Transportation has refused to suspend or withdraw the draft environmental impact statement, called an EIS, for the roadway design of SH45 Southwest, as requested by Austin City Manager Marc Ott July 23. In addition, TxDOT has declined to extend the period of time during which citizens can comment on construction of […]
Posted inTransportation
Fix 290 calls CTRMA, TxDOT evaluation of Oak Hill Y plan ‘biased’
A representative of an Oak Hill community group is calling the criteria used to evaluate the Oak Hill Parkway Project – designed to improve the junction of SH 71 and US 290 – “subjective and biased.” Most Austinites know the area as the Oak Hill Y, an intersection with a long and tortured history of […]
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 inLocal Government, Local Politics, Transportation
County ponders how to deal with heritage tree in path of road extension
Travis County Commissioners will face a tough decision next week as they decide the fate of a 100-year-old oak tree that is in the way of an extension of Frate Barker Road in South Austin. The item came up on the court’s agenda on Tuesday, but after examining a complex array of solutions, Commissioners […]