The city is committing $1 million for the construction of a new dedicated transit lane down the center of Dean Keeton Street near I-35, as part of the Texas Department of Transportation's highway expansion through Central Austin.
What's happening
City Council voted to spend $1 million on the transit lane associated with TxDOT's multi-billion dollar Capital Express Central project. The lane will run through a redesigned, at-grade intersection over the interstate that'll be built as part of the highway initiative.
The new transit lane will be placed in the center of the reconstructed Dean Keeton Street to accommodate service like Capital Metro's existing Rapid Route 837, which connects East Austin to downtown.
"Transit service will be able to continue to operate congestion-free through the future at-grade intersection with the I-35 frontage road using the transit lanes. Multimodal improvements are expected to be part of the overall project," Austin Transportation and Public Works spokesperson Zara Flores said.
Some context
City planning related to the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan and initial Project Connect system proposal envisioned high-capacity transit along Dean Keeton, Flores said. And in late 2020, then-Assistant City Manager Gina Fiandaca informed TxDOT of a local desire for transit capacity along the street as the state highway department developed its I-35 expansion project.
This fall's city commitment was needed to formally add the lane into Capital Express Central plans. It's not expected to cost more than $1 million, based on TxDOT estimates.
Officials' Nov. 5 vote represents an initial authorization only and will be followed by a future agreement between the city and state for project design and eventual construction. City funding won't be needed until 2029 ahead of anticipated construction work on that segment of the Capital Express Central initiative from 2030-33.
What they're saying
City officials representing areas along I-35 said the transit lane will help support mobility across town.
"That’s going to be an important connection there to make sure that we have high-quality transit, to make sure that people can get from Northeast Austin to The University of Texas and downtown," Mayor Pro Tem Chito Vela said. "A small but important segment in making sure that the buses run quickly and people can get where they need to be in a safe, quick and affordable way.”
Referencing the Nov. 3 election results, council member Zo Qadri also said Austin will soon see additional transportation partnerships under Texas' new leadership.
"I’m really proud of the work that the city’s doing in partnership with CapMetro to improve transit reliability and making sure that we have the best transit system here in Austin. And also making sure that we achieve our safety and climate goals," he said. “I’m also eager to work with TxDOT moving forward, and just in a few short months our new state government, to make sure that we continue to build on the work that we’ve done. So it’s a new day in Austin, and in Texas, for transportation.”
