CATC Mobility Headlines

With TXDOT budget cuts trickling down to the local levels, Austin District Engineer Bob Daigh predicts that the district could rely on the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) to pick up the slack.

The Austin District’s right-of-way budget has been cut in half and the consultant budget was decreased by 57%. As of February, added capacity projects will be halted through the end of the fiscal year. Worse news: budget reductions could remain in place through 2009.

To help ease the burden, the Austin District is negotiating with the CTRMA to begin design work on projects that the District no longer has the budget for, including five toll projects approved in the CAMPO 2030 Plan and MoPac managed express lanes.

The CAMPO Board CAMPO approved managed lanes on MOPAC in Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).  TXDOT and CAMPO have devised a plan to build the extra lanes without taking an right-of-way from the UP rail line or the property along MoPac by narrowing existing lanes from 12 to 11 feet. The proposal would put two lanes, one in each direction, running from Town Lake to Parmer Lane.

The project still must undergo a federal environmental review process and public hearings. If everything goes as planned, construction could begin as early as fall 2008.

MOPAC likely to get two more lanes - Austin Business Journal

A Managed Lanes Open House hosted by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 20, 2007 from 6:00 to 8:30 PM at the Thompson Conference Center at UT. The open house will provide information about managed lanes, a new approach that provides options for freeway travel.  The informal structure will allow attendees to come and go at their own pace by visiting various display stations and interacting with managed lane experts.

Brief presentations on managed lanes will also be provided every 30 minutes and fact sheets with other printed resource material will be available to attendees.  Information on successful managed lane facilities in San Diego, Minnesota, Denver, Houston, and Orange County, California will be featured at the open house.

If you have any questions, please contact Ginger Goodin at g-goodin@tamu.edu (TTI).

Due to the inclement weather, the Managed Lanes open house scheduled for this evening has been CANCELLED.

We’ll post the re-scheduled date when it is available.

No word yet regarding Wednesday’s CAMPO Board meeting.  If the show goes on, we encourage you to attend.   We’ll have more details tomorrow.

TXDOT press release (below) announces details about the January 16 event.

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Event Will Showcase New Concept for Improving Traffic Conditions

AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) will hold an open house next week to provide information about managed lanes to drivers, local residents and other interested parties.

Managed lanes utilize various combinations of flexible pricing, vehicle eligibility, and controlled access to maintain a steady traffic flow, particularly during periods of high congestion.

“Managed lanes have been effective at offering travel choices on several urban highways around the country,” said Ginger Goodin, research engineer at TTI. “Managed lanes hold promise for providing congestion relief on several Texas highways, including MoPac and I-35, but most Texans are unfamiliar with them because they are a relatively new concept,” she added.

“We want to provide the community with information about managed lanes in an informal setting so people can comfortably explore the topics and issues they’re most interested in,” Goodin said.

The open house structure allows attendees to learn about managed lanes at their own pace by visiting various display stations. Personnel from TxDOT and TTI will be available to answer questions about managed lanes and mobility.

A brief presentation on managed lanes also will be provided every 30 minutes at the open house, and printed resource material will be available to attendees. Information on managed lane facilities in San Diego, Minnesota, Denver, Houston, and Orange County, California will be featured at the open house.

The managed lanes open house will be held Tuesday, January 16 at the Thompson Conference Center at UT from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

TXDOT press release