“Nothing like this has been attempted, that I know of, at least it hasn’t gotten this far here in Central Texas. Getting these agencies working together in such a formal fashion and sharing data," said Brad Wheelis, regional communications director for the Texas Department of Transportation. "This is a one-of-a-kind program that we’ve started here in Central Texas."
The overview
In 2023, officials with multiple governments and mobility organizations began planning for improved construction coordination and public engagement related to dozens of high-impact projects around the area worth more than $20 billion.
Those considerations have led to the creation of the new Central Texas Construction Partnership Program, or CPP, between several local, regional and state entities. The CPP is meant to better inform the public about the extensive work that'll be taking place and ensure different agencies can effectively plan around each others' work.
Agencies involved include:
- Austin, with multiple road and bridge projects in progress or planning across the city
- Travis County, which is developing a $233 million slate of mobility upgrades under its 2023 road bond
- TxDOT, which has multiple major projects in the works headlined by the multibillion dollar expansion of I-35 through Central Austin
- The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, which manages toll road projects like the US 183 North expansion and planned additions along MoPac South
- The Austin Transit Partnership, responsible for building out Austin Light Rail under Project Connect
- CapMetro, which recently launched two rapid bus routes under Project Connect and will be planning additional bus and rail lines through the transit program
- The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the multicounty transportation planning and coordination entity
“It’s quite apparent that all this construction is going to occur in overlapping sequence, and it’s imperative that we coordinate in partnership to mitigate the impacts on our community in terms of their daily lives and daily commutes," he told City Council in April.
Zooming in
Those involved said the CPP will ensure residents don't have to follow the dozens of transportation projects that affect their commutes on their own. Instead, the program will serve as a one-stop-shop for information on all projects.
To that end, a CPP website is already live, while a resident hotline and a new "CPP GO" mobile app with real-time traffic and lane closure information will launch by 2027. Current construction information will also be fed into platforms like Google Maps and Waze.
“The public isn’t going to need to try to figure out whose project it is. We just need to know where you’re at, and then we can help get it to the right folks, and we’ll be following up," said Jim Dale, Austin's deputy transportation director.
Aside from new public-facing tools and information campaigns, representatives said the CPP is a novel way for various agencies to enhance coordination behind the scenes. That'll involve data-sharing and analysis, and the use of artificial intelligence to monitor construction and traffic impacts.
While much of the road work is centered around Austin, Dale said the CPP should benefit residents outside the city as well.
"There would also be a part of us reaching out to those outlying communities like Liberty Hill, Bastrop—ones that are a little bit further away from the construction, but a lot of their folks that live there, they come down to Austin," he said. "[We] want to make sure that they have information and understand what those impacts are going to be before they travel.”
Diving in deeper
Another goal of the CPP is transportation demand management. Given Central Texas' growing population and increased roadway impacts, the agencies aim to help residents learn about alternative travel options that could get some cars off the road and speed up commutes.
Samantha Baez, CapMetro executive vice president of experience and engagement, said that work has also been supported by the regional congestion management organization Movability.
“They are an entity in town that many of us are involved with who work really hard to help companies in particular, and individuals, prepare their workforce for alternative transportation options," Baez said. "We’re really positioned well to be a good alternative choice for folks; if they do experience traffic impacts or an impact to their commute, maybe trying out the rail line or one of the new rapid lines, maybe that’s a good incentive to try it.”
Some of that work is already advancing under a nearly $48 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant that Austin received from the Environmental Protection Agency. More than $17 million of that award is going to CapMetro and the Capital Area Rural Transportation System, or CARTS, transit upgrades with $7 million more going to transportation demand infrastructure like mobility hubs.
Baez also said anticipated transit additions like East Austin's Green Line rail, and rapid bus lines serving Central and Southwest Austin, are still being planned. More information on those projects could be finalized in CapMetro's Transit Plan 2035 late this year.
“Right now we’re getting all of the input, then we’ll put it into the plan. And that’s where you’ll see some of those other Project Connect elements depicted within that plan for approval later this year," she said.
Each entity's funding share of the CPP has yet to be determined while those involved are hashing out a final agreement for the initiative as of this summer. Most recently, Austin officials voted to dedicate up to $4 million over the next two years and ensure each entity chips in "at the appropriate level."
