The Mobility Authority was created in 2001 to improve Central Texas transportation and sells bonds to fund its programs, Espinoza said. It sponsors toll and non-toll projects, he said.
“All of the projects we do must be financially viable,” Espinoza said. “Because of that, the way to fund these projects—basically to pay back our bondholders—is to make sure we are able to charge user fees, or tolls, for our projects.”
Toll
With the 183A and Manor Expressway toll projects open, the Mobility Authority has the MoPac North and SH 71 express lanes in front of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport under construction, Espinoza said. Although the SH 71 project is being built by the Texas Department of Transportation, the Mobility Authority will operate and maintain the road upon its completion, he said.
The SH 45 SW project is in its final stage of design, and construction will begin in 2016, Espinoza said.
Oak Hill has been congested for quite some time, prompting a parkway environmental study in the region, he said.
Two proposed express lane project studies—MoPac South and 183 North Mobility—are planned, Espinoza said.
The express lane network is a new concept for Central Texas, he said.
“Express lanes are toll lanes that are variably priced [for drivers] to maintain a specific speed,” Hurst said.
The lanes determine the fee commuters will pay based on supply and demand, she said.
“We recognize we’ve got to come up with some innovative solutions to our traffic problem,” Espinoza said. “We don’t have enough capacity, we don’t have enough right of way, we don’t have enough real estate to go out and build all the lanes we need to help really improve congestion in our community.”
MoPac South
Hurst said the MoPac South proposal, which runs from Cesar Chavez Street south to Slaughter Lane, is the agency’s most popular project, with so many public comments that it prompted the Mobility Authority to extend the project’s study timeline by six months, schedule open houses and additional public input, and re-evaluate the designs.The project, estimated to cost between $350 million and $400 million, will add two express lanes to MoPac’s existing two lanes and improve downtown connections including the southbound exit ramp to Bee Caves Road, she said.
The Mobility Authority is reviewing adding U-turns at Barton Skyway and hike-and-bike path connections from Lady Bird Lake to Slaughter Lane, she said.
“We’ll be the first to tell you we can’t build our way out of congestion,” Espinoza said. “What we have to do is to come up with innovative solutions so we can at least afford people the opportunity to have reliable travel times to and from their commutes.”
The primary benefit of express lanes is to provide first-responders with a route that is moving freely, especially at rush hour, he said.
“The last thing you want is to have someone who is trying to get to one of the hospitals within the city of Austin in the medical district, and they are stuck on MoPac,” Espinoza said. “If we can provide reliable travel times to our first-responders then, I think, we have gone a long way to help [not only improve] the health of our community but the sanity of all of our commuters as well.”
Non-toll projects
The Mobility Authority completed Keller Road in southeast Travis County in 2015, Espinoza said. Using state, community and private funds, the agency is planning to improve intersections on Hwy. 183 and toll Hwy. 183A in Williamson County, he said.
“We need to think outside the box,” Espinoza said of possible solutions to Central Texas’ traffic issues.
He said the agency has made available a smartphone application—Metropia—that will determine the best commuter route for its user given real-time traffic conditions. Carma, another phone app, allows users to share rides with other users, he said.
“We are trying to get folks out of the single-occupant vehicle [they] are so used to taking,” Espinoza said.
