The Texas Department of Transportation approved environmental clearances for projects along South Lamar Boulevard and Burnet Road, according to an Oct. 27 news release from the city of Austin’s Corridor Program Office. The green light from TxDOT now allows the city to begin construction work on the two projects.
“The city of Austin and TxDOT teams have been able to work together seamlessly to ensure that the proposed improvements meet the [National Environmental Policy Act] requirements for environmental clearance,” TxDOT Austin District Engineer Tucker Ferguson said in the news release.
The South Lamar and Burnet projects are two of nine corridor packages included in the city’s 2016 Mobility Bond, passed nearly four years ago. That voter-approved bond package earmarks $482 million to corridor improvement projects across the city.
Improvements along Burnet will run from the road’s intersection with US 183 to the MoPac frontage road north of The Domain. The planned improvements include pedestrian and bicyclist improvements that address safety and mobility needs, according to the Corridor Program Office’s news release. This work will break ground in early 2021 and is scheduled to complete within four months and ahead of the Austin FC stadium opening.
Further drainage and roadway construction on the Burnet corridor will begin following the pedestrian and cyclist improvements. The Corridor Program Office states that work could begin in 2022.
The city expects to begin some of the improvements to the South Lamar corridor before the end of the year. Crews will begin construction between Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road, with utility relocation work expected to wrap by early 2021, according to the Oct. 27 news release.
Final improvements along the South Lamar corridor include two-way bicycle northbound and southbound lanes, intersection improvements, landscaping work and installation of Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalks.
Earlier this summer, city crews began construction on pedestrian safety and traffic flow improvements along Anderson Mill Road in Northwest Austin. Those improvements are also funded by the 2016 Mobility Bond.
According to the city, further environmental studies are currently being conducted for the East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and FM 969 corridor, as well as the Airport Boulevard, William Cannon Drive and Slaughter Lane corridors. In its news release, the Corridor Program Office stated environmental clearance is expected soon for North Lamar improvements.
Note from the editor: This article has been edited for clarity.
