Capital Metro Study

Capital Metro contracted with planning consultant Transportation Management and Design Inc. to conduct an in-depth review of its transit system as part of an anticipated study called Connections 2025. An online survey and open houses will provide information to Capital Metro about residents’ current transit use and desires for the future. The information collected will be used by the agency to complete its Connections 2025 study and provide a transit plan moving forward. The first round of open houses is scheduled for mid-February.

Currently, there is no Capital Metro service to a portion of RR 620 in the Lake Travis area. For more information, visit www.connections2025.org.

Timeline: October 2015-September 2016
Cost: $466,276 for study
Funding Sources: Capital Metro

1. RR 620 feasibility study

The purpose of the stakeholder-focused study is to analyze transportation issues along
RR 620 from Hwy. 71 to US 183. The Texas Department of Transportation solicited input from neighborhoods, businesses, property owners, commuters, bicyclists, pedestrians and residents who use RR 620. The information will help the agency identify needs and gather feedback on potential short- and long-term mobility and safety improvements for the RR 620 corridor.

In a report released Dec. 7, TxDOT had received 2,131 responses to the survey as of Sept. 18, with 70 percent of respondents saying they live along the RR 620 corridor. About 19 percent of respondents said they had been involved in a traffic crash on RR 620. Respondents identified RR 2222, or Bullick Hollow Road, at RR 620 as the top intersection having significant mobility problems.

Timeline: 2015-summer 2016
Cost: $655,000
Funding Sources: TxDOT

2. Bee Caves Road center turn lane

TxDOT will add a center turn lane on Bee Caves Road between Redbud Trail and Walsh Tarlton Lane, turning a four-lane section of the road into a five-lane section with shoulders and sidewalks. The project is a culmination of discussions with staffers in Rollingwood and West Lake Hills, cities that worked for years to acquire the right of way needed to convert the four-lane roadway into a five-lane section. The project was approved by TxDOT on Nov. 23. Aaron Concrete Contractors will be performing the roadway changes.

West Lake Hills Mayor Linda Anthony said only one parcel in the city’s right of way remains to be acquired.

Timeline: February 2016-2018
Cost: $29 million
Funding Sources: TxDOT

3.  Flint Rock Road

Flint Rock Road[/caption]

Approximately 2 miles of the two-lane Flint Rock Road—between RR 620 at Lakeway Regional Medical Center and Serene Hills Drive—will be widened, with a buffer and asphalt shoulder added. The project is expected to take 15 months to complete, depending on the weather, and Travis County will manage the construction phase performed by Smith Contracting Co. Construction began the week of Oct. 19 with the erection of signage and erosion protection. Early segments of the project include brush clearing and the construction of temporary travel lanes for traffic control.

Timeline: October 2015-late 2016
Cost: $9.2 million total with 47 percent funded by the city of Lakeway and 53 percent funded by Travis County
Funding Sources: city of Lakeway, Travis County

4. Loop 360 entrance/exit lanes

TxDOT will add extended entrance and exit lanes on Loop 360 to improve intersections with Walsh Tarlton Lane, the Barton Creek Square Mall entrance, MoPac and the intersection just south of MoPac in Austin. A left-turn lane will also be added on the northbound frontage road of MoPac at Loop 360.

Timeline: February 2016-spring 2017
Cost: $6.44 million
Funding sources: TxDOT