1. Guadalupe Street/Lavaca Street bus lane repairs
The Austin Public Works Department is repairing bus lanes on Guadalupe and Lavaca streets from Second to 18th streets through the fall. These repairs are the first phase of a greater effort to improve road conditions in the Guadalupe corridor. Crews began work July 9 on Guadalupe Street from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Dean Keeton Street, with Phase 2 repairs happening in August from Dean Keeton to North Lamar Boulevard.
Timeline: July-November
Cost: $150,000-$200,000
Funding source: transportation user fees
2. Hearn Street and West Seventh Street water line improvements
Twelve-inch water lines are being installed during weekends across Lake Austin Boulevard and along West Seventh Street. Water will be turned off from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. July 30 on Lake Austin Boulevard from Upson Street to the intersection of West Seventh and Lake Austin Boulevard. The city of Austin is notifying area residents. There is no parking on Hearn in select areas from 7 a.m.-7 p.m., and residents should adhere to posted signage.
Timeline: February-October
Cost: $290 million
Funding source: Austin Water
3. MoPac Express lanes
Steve Pustelnyk, director of community relations for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, said over the next month, crews will be paving asphalt, striping the roadway and installing signs, lights and concrete barriers along the MoPac Express Lanes. The MoPac Improvement Project is adding a northbound and southbound express toll lane between Parmer Lane and Cesar Chavez Street.
Timeline: October 2013-late summer 2017
Cost: $204 million
Funding sources: various
4. I-35 at Oltorf Street interchange improvements
Work continues on improvements to the I-35 and Oltorf Street interchange, with Texas Department of Transportation crews working on northbound frontage road drainage and widening as well as southbound main lane widening under Oltorf. Half the bridge was demolished at the end of July. During this phase of construction, traffic lanes on the Oltorf Street bridge will be shifted slightly to allow for two travel lanes in each direction. A dedicated turn lane will no longer be available. Construction of new U-turn lanes also began in July. Check www.my35construction.org for lane closure updates.
Timeline: February 2017-spring 2019
Cost: $42.6 million
Funding source: Texas Clear Lanes
How does TxDOT prioritize construction?[/caption]How it works
How does TxDOT prioritize construction?
Although the Texas Department of Transportation funds construction for highways and other major roads in the state right of way, metropolitan planning organizations prioritize project construction.
Texas has 25 MPOs that create transportation policy, forecast mobility needs, administer regional transportation planning, and approve state and federal funding for local and regional projects.
MPOs identify need-based projects by scoring them on safety, mobility, environmental quality, economic development, and asset management and operations. Then the MPO determines the funding and shovel-readiness of a project. If no funding is available and the project is not ready with right of way or environmental clearance, then it is shelved.
Once a project is approved by the MPO, it is added to the four-year Statewide Transportation Improvement Program or TxDOT’s 10-year Unified Transportation Program.
