Austin Transportation & Roadways

[Somnio 751]

Here is an article from last September about the other segments being funded...

https://cbsaustin.com/news/project-gridlock/project-gridlock-txdot-finds-funds-to-expand-i-35-but-not-the-most-congested-part

Quote

Project Gridlock: TxDOT finds funds to expand I-35 but not the most congested part

by Melanie Torre

Friday, September 13th 2019

Big improvements are coming to I-35 now that TxDOT has the money to complete two projects adding more lanes to the Interstate in north and south Austin. However, some people worry it's all for nothing if I-35 through downtown doesn't get major funding, too.

 

 

 

With $700 million in new funding through the 2020 Unified Transportation Program, TxDOT says they hope to get drivers moving.

"This has been a long time coming. Anyone who drives I-35 knows there is gridlock often," says Brad Wheelis, spokesperson for TxDOT Austin.

The Capital Express project through Travis County is split into three sections -- North, South and Central. The $700 million from UTP fully funds the North and South projects.

Capital Express North will add one, non-tolled managed lane in each direction on I-35 from SH 45 North to US 290 East. Capital Express South will add two, non-tolled managed lanes in each direction on I-35 from SH 45 Southeast to SH 71/Ben White Boulevard. The new lanes will be restricted but not tolled -- how exactly they'll be restricted has yet to be decided.

"If you open it up to everybody and make all lanes general lanes you create more gridlock believe it or not," says Wheelis.

The north and south projects are only part of the I-35 solution for Austin. State Senator Kirk Watson is fighting for more funds to improve I-35 through downtown.

"If all we do now is those parts... all we've done is make people get to the bottleneck faster and that's not a solution," Watson says.

He says variable-priced toll roads -- like the Mopac Express Lanes -- are the solution, but the state still has a stop on new toll road construction. This year Watson filed seven transportation bills to increase funding for major road projects in Texas but he says none received a hearing.

"They're saying we're going to provide congestion relief with no new tolls, no new taxes, no new debt and no new fees. Well, there's no new money and it costs money to reduce peoples' time in traffic," Watson says.

TxDOT says adding lanes to I-35 through downtown is part of a long-term plan that's estimated to cost at least $5 Billion.

"There's not a lot of room width-wise there, so that creates some engineering challenges and that's what we're working on," Wheelis says. The transportation agency says completing the North and South projects first will help create alternate routes when I-35 through downtown is eventually under construction. However, without money to get that downtown construction started there's no real solution drivers can count on.

"I live central, so I need a solution central," says Andrews.

"I think it's incumbent upon TxDOT to find the money to make the commitment to Central Texans that they're going to finish that entire project," Watson says. The stretch of I-35 through downtown is the third most congested roadway in the state, according to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.

Construction on the Capital Express North and South projects is expected to start in 2022 and take three to four years to complete. TxDOT will host open houses to collect public feedback late fall 2019.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2020 by Somnio

[Pasken 1309]

Multiple Build options for 35 between 290East and 71. 

[atomheartbevo 89354]

https://www.kxan.com/traffic/future-of-i-35-txdot-proposes-free-hov-lanes-through-downtown-austin/

Quote

The Texas Department of Transportation officials will host a virtual public scoping meeting Thursday to gather input on its $4.9 billion Interstate 35 Capital Express Central Projectstretching eight miles from U.S. Highway 290 East to SH 71/Ben White Boulevard.

The transportation department is proposing two non-tolled HOV-managed lanes in each direction. There are three concept designs they are asking the public for feedback on. The first design would take the free HOV lanes underground.

 

[Pasken 1309]

Option 1 seems like a pipe dream. I think they are going to stick to what they know and that's eminent domain and widening the highway. That means a lot of businesses closing down along the upper deck to fit all of those lanes.

[Somnio 751]

I think St. David's Hospital, the new buildings at the Concordia site, and the cemetery are all off the table for the use of eminent domain.

If the entire stretch was lined with gas stations and fast food joints I'd agree, but that's not the case.

I suppose we will find out in short order (by massive highway project standards anyways).

[Guest Lobo]

^Good point.  Maybe a year ago, but now that the old Concordia/University Park site is rapidly underway on several new buildings, that's a tough one.  That Saint David's hospital portion on the access road, is at the bare minimum of setback.  That's not just some parking area they can demo, that's a full-on health care facility right on top of the sidewalk .  You could get 34th to Airport done "okay" (be ugly, but it could get done).  But from UT to 34th would just be an un-doable shitshow.  

Plus, I go back to---what a disaster it would to be have subterranean work going on around downtown capmetro lines while digging up IH-35.  

Boring Company to Austin:  "Hold my Beer"  

Edited November 12, 2020 by Lobo

[atomheartbevo 89354]

6 minutes ago, Somnio said:

I think St. David's Hospital, the new buildings at the Concordia site, and the cemetery are all off the table for the use of eminent domain.

Agreed - the Concordia site just went through a massive tear-down/rebuild over the last 5 years or so, and that would be a massive clusterfuck for TxDOT to fuck around and find out with - if it was still a baseball field, sure, but way too much money has been sunk into that thing.

Hospital and cemetery are non-starters.  Fucking with any cemetery is a great way to get the olds out and up in arms, and that would just be ugly as hell politically.  And that's an old cemetery, a lot of graves, and it would be a fight with the Catholic Church.  And I've done some Find-A-Grave stuff there, and if I recall, they had a lot of military vets buried there.

TxDOT could try, but there would be a shit-ton of phone calls and emails to Abbott and Co.

[TKthunder2 4975]

I’ll agree with the hospital and university but that cemetery is basically abandoned and unmanaged.  I know it’s been vandalized and has had homeless camps even before the camping ban was overturned.  Not that long ago they had a large fire and the fire department had to come in to get it under control.  I could totally see the state claiming that it was neglected and for the good of the deceased they would be moving the gravesites to a new location.

[Updawg 2259]

Are y’all talking about the state cemetery?

[atomheartbevo 89354]

1 hour ago, TKthunder2 said:

I’ll agree with the hospital and university but that cemetery is basically abandoned and unmanaged.  I know it’s been vandalized and has had homeless camps even before the camping ban was overturned.  Not that long ago they had a large fire and the fire department had to come in to get it under control.  I could totally see the state claiming that it was neglected and for the good of the deceased they would be moving the gravesites to a new location.

The olds and the vets don't like people fucking with cemeteries, otherwise the Austin State Hospital Cemetery would be long gone - the thing has so many unmarked graves.   I wouldn't be surprised if over 2,500 of the 3,000+ graves are unmarked.

It gets really dicey when you fuck with cemeteries - when it happens, it's usually smaller cemeteries, with far fewer burials, that gets moved quickly (and with as little public notice as possible).  Something that's out in the open like this, with over a thousand burials...

[atomheartbevo 89354]

1 minute ago, Updawg said:

Are y’all talking about the state cemetery?

No, that will never be moved.  If anything, it would be expanded.  Any sitting politician who suggested that could kiss their reelection goodbye.  

I think we are talking about Mt. Calvary, which is up against 35 (Oakwood has a small section up against 35, but it's not like Mt. Calvary).

[UTexasFight 9369]

12 hours ago, Lobo said:

Plus, I go back to---what a disaster it would to be have subterranean work going on around downtown capmetro lines while digging up IH-35.  

Boring Company to Austin:  "Hold my Beer"  

Ding ding...

So I-35 construction is expected to start 2025...right around the same time as the orange and blue line.

We’ll be wishing for another pandemic so we can avoid downtown come the back half of this decade.

 

 

 

 

[TKthunder2 4975]

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

No, that will never be moved.  If anything, it would be expanded.  Any sitting politician who suggested that could kiss their reelection goodbye.  

I think we are talking about Mt. Calvary, which is up against 35 (Oakwood has a small section up against 35, but it's not like Mt. Calvary).

Yes Mt. Calvary.  Go walk through it someday, I mean it’s got to be one of the worst upkept cemeteries I’ve ever seen.

State cemetery is never going anywhere.

Mt. Calvary will eventually be relocated, in my opinion, it’s just when and why.  UT has a bunch of facilities buildings next door to it with spacious parking so it’s not exactly in high demand at the moment and I doubt they’ll want to be the bad guys in more eminent domain spats right now (but 20 years from now, I won’t be so sure).

But a 7+billion dollar I35 expansion, camping homeless, and the State claiming moral high road over Austin in order to protect the deceased sounds like a pretty good scenario for this to be a possibility.  The road will be expanded one way or another so at this point it’s all about how much it’ll cost to leave/relocate the cemetery in that narrow corridor. $1 million obviously not, but what about $10 million? Probably not, but $100 million?  At some point it’ll be worth the squeeze.

[atomheartbevo 89354]

1 minute ago, TKthunder2 said:

Yes Mt. Calvary.  Go walk through it someday, I mean it’s got to be one of the worst upkept cemeteries I’ve ever seen.

I've been through it to take some photos for genealogy sites.  It should have been taken better care of.

But moving 1,000+ bodies or so is a pretty tough fight, patricianly when there are so many large families in there.

[Somnio 751]

TXDOT has been very consistent in saying tunneling will be necessary for the area roughly from Airport to MLK.  That is a big reason why this is such an expensive project.

If expanding the ROW was possible the state would have made that move back in the 70s when they expanded the highway.  Instead they added the upper deck.

And removing the barrier of an elevated highway between East and West Austin is an important component of this project in addition to the primary purpose of increased capacity.

Edited November 13, 2020 by Somnio

[Armybrat 40678]

23 hours ago, Somnio said:

I think St. David's Hospital, the new buildings at the Concordia site, and the cemetery are all off the table for the use of eminent domain.

If the entire stretch was lined with gas stations and fast food joints I'd agree, but that's not the case.

I suppose we will find out in short order (by massive highway project standards anyways).

Let Elon Muck fire up his tunnel boring machines!

[CooterBrown 17869]

If you're gonna boondoggle, do it right. Option 1 all the way. 

[Guest Lobo]

Yep, I love that Adler and City Council make no mention of what two parallel earth moving projects within a few blocks of one another would mean for downtown Austin for a full decade.  Gonna be hard to host bike lanes and homeless camps when half the fucking geographic footprint is being actively demolished.  

It reminds me of that political cartoon from 25 years ago with Ross Perot dressed up as Capt. Kirk on the deck of the Enterprise and his order to the bridge is, "Plot a course...Straight for the Sun!"  

Edited November 13, 2020 by Lobo

[Pasken 1309]

Considering this 35 work was suppose to start...now and were at the point of having full schematics back in 2016 and now they are back to rough diagrams I wouldn't hold my breath that this project starts in 2025. I think they are killing time right now until the ledg comes in a few months and puts down the hammer on spending. 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2020 by Pasken

[landman 559]

10 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

I've been through it to take some photos for genealogy sites.  It should have been taken better care of.

But moving 1,000+ bodies or so is a pretty tough fight, patricianly when there are so many large families in there.

Move the headstones but leave the bodies.  What could go wrong...

[Murfdogg21 4412]

26 minutes ago, Pasken said:

Considering this 35 work was suppose to start...now and were at the point of having full schematics back in 2016 and now they are back to rough diagrams I wouldn't hold my breath that this project starts in 2025. I think they are killing time right now until the ledg comes in a few months and puts down the hammer on spending. 

 

 

They’ll probably go ahead and roll that property tax increase in for 2021 though right? #affordablecity

[Orange&White 5516]

I will laugh when Abbott somehow ties TxDot spending to cities that don't defund police and prohibit homeless camps and pulls all of that I35 money away and gives it Houston..

[Somnio 751]

2 hours ago, Pasken said:

Considering this 35 work was suppose to start...now and were at the point of having full schematics back in 2016 and now they are back to rough diagrams I wouldn't hold my breath that this project starts in 2025. I think they are killing time right now until the ledg comes in a few months and puts down the hammer on spending. 

 

 

It was never funded.  It is now.

[Gardner Barnes 1562]

I will laugh when Abbott somehow ties TxDot spending to cities that don't defund police and prohibit homeless camps and pulls all of that I35 money away and gives it Houston..

Which you know is exactly what is going to happen - and I will laugh as well.

Reap what you sow. The leadership in this city is so fucked up.

[Deej 76481]

9 minutes ago, Gardner Barnes said:

The leadership in this city is so fucked up.

It's ok. Fitlump will save us. 

[Somnio 751]

The North and South segments are breaking ground in a little over year or so.  The Central segment starts when those are complete circa 2025. 

I don't think the state will defund one of the most important and congested segments of highway in the state to "punish" Austin.

But apparently this is yet another thread for bitter folks to bitch about Austin, and root for it to fail.

Enjoy yourselves!

 

[Guest Lobo]

Serious question because it changes every single electoral cycle---what is the funding breakdown (feds v. state) for IH-35 expansion?  

"Now even the highways look the same.  We don't live in this mess...we live under it."

-Guy Forsyth 

[atomheartbevo 89354]

5 hours ago, Orange&White said:

I will laugh when Abbott somehow ties TxDot spending to cities that don't defund police and prohibit homeless camps and pulls all of that I35 money away and gives it Houston..

I think he may hate Houston more than Austin at times.

[Deej 76481]

22 hours ago, Orange&White said:

I will laugh when Abbott somehow ties TxDot spending to cities that don't defund police and prohibit homeless camps and pulls all of that I35 money away and gives it Houston..

Make it wheelchair accessible. He can't deny money then.

[Armybrat 40678]

On 11/13/2020 at 6:45 PM, atomheartbevo said:

I think he may hate Houston more than Austin at times.

And the trees.

[Dnaguy 11738]

On 11/13/2020 at 9:56 AM, CooterBrown said:

If you're gonna boondoggle, do it right. Option 1 all the way. 

 

[Pasken 1309]

Reconstruction of half of the 35 North to 183 North flyover starts soon. TLDR: The design is great. Deal with construction because it's nothing compared to what's coming for 35 in a few years.

Edited April 24, 2021 by Pasken

[gsoda3 3233]

Four months seems like a long time to close down the nb 35 to nb 183 ramp.

[Pasken 1309]

On 4/24/2021 at 5:44 PM, gsoda3 said:

Four months seems like a long time to close down the nb 35 to nb 183 ramp.

Not for a rebuilding a direct connector ramp.

 

Also, congrats south Austin. You're getting your own research blvd style elevated highway down I-35 from 71 all the way to Slaughter (actually between South Boggy Creek and Slaughter). Going elevated though will allow intersection bypass lanes at Stassney and William cannon which is pretty dope. Still, it's going to look like shit.

 

[Orange&White 5516]

So do you work for the Mayors office? The transportation department or the PIO?

[Pasken 1309]

37 minutes ago, Orange&White said:

So do you work for the Mayors office? The transportation department or the PIO?

None. What does the mayor's office have to do with 35?

Edited April 27, 2021 by Pasken

[Guest Lobo]

Not so much what's on I-35, but what's underneath I-35.  

[Somnio 751]

On 4/24/2021 at 5:44 PM, gsoda3 said:

Four months seems like a long time to close down the nb 35 to nb 183 ramp.

There is a plan in place which should make the flyover being closed not be as bad.

There are some details in this news story if you're interested.

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/new-us-183-flyovers-open-existing-flyover-closes-for-reconstruction

[gsoda3 3233]

34 minutes ago, Somnio said:

There is a plan in place which should make the flyover being closed not be as bad.

There are some details in this news story if you're interested.

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/new-us-183-flyovers-open-existing-flyover-closes-for-reconstruction

are they keeping the light cadence the same?  the one at 35 and anderson.

[Deej 76481]

44 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Not so much what's on I-35, but what's underneath I-35.  

Inner Space Caverns?

[Guest Lobo]

11 minutes ago, Deej said:

Inner Space Caverns?

That's a helluva name for the ground toilet under Hancock and IH35 that drains into nothing.  

[Somnio 751]

On 4/27/2021 at 1:20 PM, gsoda3 said:

are they keeping the light cadence the same?  the one at 35 and anderson.

I'm not sure, but I tried the new traffic pattern today.

I exited Rundburg, took the U-turn lane which is now a dedicated on ramp to get back on I-35 South, and you then have two new flyovers from 35 S to 183 N and 183 S.

It worked seamlessly, and is a very viable solution for 4 months while the 35 N to 183 N flyover is rebuilt.

Slightly off topic, but damn the Domain has turned into a pretty substantial skyline.  When driving north on 183 it could be mistaken as Austin's downtown by someone from out of town.

[Deej 76481]

The drive home up 35 is so much smoother without the clusterfuck going on at the 183 ramp. 

16 minutes from the office to the house at 5:00 every day this week. 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Deej

[Pasken 1309]

13 hours ago, Deej said:

The drive home up 35 is so much smoother without the clusterfuck going on at the 183 ramp. 

16 minutes from the office to the house at 5:00 every day this week. 

The new highway entrance going under the rebuilt ramp is going to be a profound improvement over the current entrance which makes cars travel through the line of cars trying to exit.

[JimmyJames 12271]

17 hours ago, Deej said:

The drive home up 35 is so much smoother without the clusterfuck going on at the 183 ramp. 

16 minutes from the office to the house at 5:00 every day this week. 

That ramp was a classic TXDOT aggy fuck up and I’m glad it’s finally being fixed. 
 

Our state definitely has to lead the country in having to fix on and off ramp freeway fuckups by a mile. Numerous examples all over Austin and sometimes I wonder if it’s not deliberate. 

[CooterBrown 17869]

That ramp was a classic TXDOT aggy fuck up and I’m glad it’s finally being fixed. 
 
Our state definitely has to lead the country in having to fix on and off ramp freeway fuckups by a mile. Numerous examples all over Austin and sometimes I wonder if it’s not deliberate. 

Back my consulting days, I attended a transportation planning conference. During one presentation, the head of the Colorado DOT said to assure success in highway design, states should look at TxDOT’s lead and then do the opposite. Ripping TxDOT’s incompetence was a disturbingly common occurrence at those conferences.

[Paper_jam 828]

When the Manor Expressway (toll portion of 290E) was being built, a contractor working from an outdated set of plans built a bunch of enormous support columns to the wrong height. Version control is a bitch sometimes.

 

 

[Pasken 1309]

On 5/1/2021 at 12:52 PM, JimmyJames said:

That ramp was a classic TXDOT aggy fuck up and I’m glad it’s finally being fixed. 
 

Our state definitely has to lead the country in having to fix on and off ramp freeway fuckups by a mile. Numerous examples all over Austin and sometimes I wonder if it’s not deliberate. 

This. People would be shocked at how much we could improve traffic flow if we just focus on making highways and roads smarter instead of wider.

[BabaYaga 15202]

On 11/13/2020 at 7:56 AM, CooterBrown said:

If you're gonna boondoggle, do it right. Option 1 all the way. 

Those pockets aren't going to line themselves.  

[CooterBrown 17869]

2 hours ago, Pasken said:

This. People would be shocked at how much we could improve traffic flow if we just focus on making highways and roads smarter instead of wider.

To be fair, Texas was to a degree fucked by the old state law that required that all adjacent landowners be provided driveway access to state roads. As a result, that was a big driver for our frontage road system. It gave access without having driveways directly on highways. It created congestion because it allowed development directly on the frontage roads instead of arterials away from the highways.