“We still have some final paving that we have to do, and that will take place next week,” she said, adding there will be lane closures next week as a result.
The project was on hold this summer because of water line issues. The $6.5 million changes in partnership with the city of Austin and Travis County included constructing two continuous-flow intersections, or CFIs, along Hwy. 290 at the Hwy. 71 and William Cannon Drive intersections. CFIs allow left-turning traffic and through-traffic to move simultaneously, according to TxDOT.
The intersection of William Cannon Drive and Hwy. 290 is slated to open Sept. 9.[/caption]“Continuous-flow intersections serve as relatively low cost improvements that will bring some much-needed traffic relief to the area,” Austin District Engineer Greg Malatek said in a Sept. 8 news release. “These new intersections will help motorists travel though Oak Hill more efficiently by improving left-turn movements and allowing more vehicles to travel through the intersection in a single traffic light cycle.”
Every small improvement helps the region’s transportation system as a whole, said Rob Spillar, city of Austin Transportation Department director, in the release.
“The city of Austin contributed $4 million to this project because we saw a need for our Southwest [Austin] residents, and it is gratifying to see this project come to fruition,” Spillar said in a statement.
TxDOT said the Hwy. 290 intersection improvements will provide an interim solution to congestion while the Oak Hill Parkway environmental study to find a long-term solution for the area is underway. More information, including steps on how to drive through a CFI, is available at https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects/studies/austin/us290-intersections.html.
