Regional transportation projects in the Austin-metro area[/caption]1. The Texas Department Transportation broke ground on several projects on I-35 in 2016 as part of its $4 billion Mobility35 program to improve the highway. The state agency plans to complete stand-alone projects that will make a significant impact on mobility as funding becomes available.
- A. 51st Street: TxDOT began construction in September on a roundabout at the southbound I-35 frontage road and East 51st Street intersection. On Jan. 8, TxDOT closed the southbound-to-northbound turnaround bridge for reconstruction. The turnaround bridge will reopen in early April. The $16.5 million project will be complete in early 2019.
- B. Oltorf Street: The project includes rebuilding the Oltorf Street bridge; improving entrance and exit ramps and frontage roads; extending entrance and exit lanes; and adding northbound and southbound U-turns at Oltorf. Construction on the $42.6 million project begins in February and will be complete by early 2020.
2. In February 2016, TxDOT began work to add an extended entrance or exit lane to each side of Loop 360 from south of MoPac to north of Walsh Tarlton Lane. The new lanes opened in December, but final paving will not be done until this spring. The state agency is planning additional improvements to Loop 360 between MoPac and US 183 to add overpasses and underpasses at major Loop 360 intersections to eliminate traffic signals. The TxDOT funded project costs $4.66 million.
3. Work is expected to be finished this spring on SH 71 Express, the new express, or toll, lane on Hwy. 71 from east of Presidential Boulevard near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to east of SH 130. The $139.5 million project also included rebuilding the intersection at FM 973; direct connectors between Hwy. 71 and SH 130; and a 5-mile-long, shared-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists. Construction on the toll bridge over SH 130 is complete, but work continues between Presidential and FM 973.
4. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority opened the first section of the MoPac express toll lane in October between northbound RM 2222 and Parmer Lane. The express lane charges a variable toll based on the amount of traffic in the express and main lanes. The rest of the toll lanes between Parmer and Cesar Chavez Street will open in the first half of 2017. The project cost is $204 million.
5. Construction began in May on a $743 million project to build two to three tolled lanes in each direction on US 183 between Hwy. 290 and SH 71 and also include three nontolled lanes in each direction with bike lanes and a shared-use path.
6. The Mobility Authority completed a $2.5 million short-term project in 2016 to aid congestion at the SH 130 and Hwy. 290 interchange, adding two signalized right-turn lanes from the southbound SH 130 frontage road to the Manor Expressway frontage roads with access to the Hwy. 290 toll road. Three new direct connectors between SH 130 and Hwy. 290 could begin construction early 2018.
