CATC Mobility Headlines

In Monday’s Ben Wear “Getting There” column, Wear recounted the third installment of the rush-hour road race series pitting SH 130 against IH-35. The first and second races were split, though there was controversy over the initial race in which IH-35 came out ahead, because the competition occurred between college semesters (thus devoid of the usual student traffic on IH-35), and in the morning, rather than the more congested evening, rush-hour traffic. In the third race, which took place on the afternoon of May 7, the longer SH 130 route beat the IH-35 route by 22 minutes, despite the race taking place between semesters of most local universities.

Wear notes that SH 130 revenues are 12% below TXDOT projections, likely due to less-than-expected numbers of large trucks, which pay more than cars, which is not altogether surprising in a recessionary economy; however, overall traffic is almost 18 percent above projections so more car drivers are finding the quicker trip worth the cost.

We’re not surprised - CATC has always been a big fan of SH 130. CATC coordinated support for public hearings and critical votes for all phases of the Central Texas Turnpike Project roads, including SH 130. CATC spearheaded the effort to raise public awareness and education regarding the project by creating and maintaining the sh130.org website (archived here) and the SH 130 information hotline, and promoted bond initiatives to pay for local participation. As a result of these efforts, SH 130 and the other CTTP projects garnered unprecedented funding from local, state, and federal resources for construction and right-of-way. With the aid of innovative financing, SH 130 was on the ground and in use decades before it would have using traditional pay-as-you-go methods. CATC lobbied for the road to be named in honor of J.J. “Jake” Pickle, and HB 2296, designating of a portion of SH 130 as the “Pickle Parkway was signed in by Governor Perry in May 2007. We’re proud to be a part of the success of SH 130 and happy to see it operating just as we knew it would - saving time (and money) for those who use it.

Austin’s fifth tollroad will open this morning between 10:00 and 11:00 AM. Tolls will not be charged for the the month of May and only half-price in June. Starting in July, the toll for the full 7.4 mile length of the turnpike will be $1 for passenger cars with toll tags or $1.33 for those without.

For more information, visit http://www.sh45se.org.

Texas 45 SE tollway to open Thursday

Despite the delay in the scheduled opening of SH 45 SE, TXDOT says the ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for this afternoon at 2:00 PM is still on.

The actual opening of the road to drivers has been postponed by about a week due to the rainy weather, which prevented the road’s final striping.

For more information on SH 45 SE, see http://www.sh45se.org/.

The 40-mile extension of SH 130 from Mustang Ridge to IH-10 in Seguin could be complete by November 2012 if all goes according to schedule.  TXDOT Engineer Ben Engelhardt told the Seguin City Council on Mar 3 that TXDOT hopes to being construction within the next 60 days.  Groundbreaking on the interchanges could begin in August.

The project, developed as a public-private partnership between TxDOT and the S.H. 130 Concession Co, will charge a toll of 12.5 cents per mile.

SH 130 construction to begin soon

http://mysh130.com/

Cashless system on 183A isn’t slowing down growth

With two months of all-electronic tolling data to analyze, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) reports that ending cash toll collection on 183A hasn’t impacted traffic or revenues. January 2009 traffic increased 16% over January 2008 and December 2008 traffic was up 12.2% over December 2007, demonstrating increases consistent with previous month’s trends. The tollroad recorded its most heavily transacted day to date on December 19, 2008 with nearly 76,000 transactions.

Revenues are also increasing at slightly slower pace - 11.8% and 11% up for December 2008 and January 2009 respectively over the same month in the previous year (revenues necessarily lag traffic in a growth period with a billing system). Since the cash booths closed Decmeber 1, 2008, customers now have the option of using TxTAG or Pay-By-Mail. About 5% of tollroad transactions are unpaid, and as the Statesman’s transportation columnist Ben Wear reported last week, the first ten super-violaters (having racked up 600+ toll violations each) have been turned over to county attorneys for prosecution.

Toll Road News reports that the CTRMA is considering another payment option, in which drivers would use an off-road cash facility to pay the toll and provide their license number and car make and model so they will not be billed by mail, but no decisions have been made about this proposal.

The CTRMA implements annual traffic surveys to continual measure the effectiveness of the 183A project as the region continues to develop and grow. The most recent survey is the December 2008 183A Traffic Study.

183A Northern Extension plans underway
In other 183A news, traffic on the tollroad has exceeded projections so greatly that the CTRMA has started survey work in anticipation of constructing a 4.5 mile northern extension of 183A seven years earlier than anticipated. The extension will be built in the median of existing frontage roads froM 1431 to RM 2243. Construction could begin by the end of 2009.

Expressway News - Feb 9, 2009 - Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority

Conversion to cashless produces no drop in traffic or revenue on 183 TR in Austin - Toll Road News

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) Board of Directors has voted to eliminate the cash toll booths on US 183A before the end of the year - perhaps as early as November 2008. As 80% of US 183A users are toll tag users, the agency was spending a disproportionate share of operating expenses to collect cash tolls. The CTRMA expects to save $1 million a year in operating costs.

Drivers without a TxTag, Tolltag or EZ-Tag will be able to use the new “Pay-By-Mail” program, which will use a snapshot of the vehicle license to send a bill to the registered owner. Customers choosing to use the “Pay-By-Mail” program can
expect their vehicle’s license plate to be photographed.

The strategy is not unprecedented - US 183A will be the fourth cashless toll road in Texas. Houston’s Westpark Tollway was the first in 2004 (access is limited to vehicles with toll tags) followed by Loop 49 in Tyler and SH 121 in Dallas (which have their own pay by mail programs). CTRMA’s future toll roads are also expected to be cashless.

US 183A toll tags customers save 25% off the “Pay-By-Mail” rate so it’s the best deal for regular users. Get a TxTag at all mainline toll plazas in Central Texas, online at www.TxTag.org or via phone at 1-888-Go-TxTag.

US 183A to go cashless - CTRMA press release

Toll booths will be eliminated on US 183A - Austin Business Journal

Central Texas 183A to go cashless - KEYE

Texas 183A tollroad in Austin going cashless before year’s end - Toll Road News

The SH 130 flyover near the Austin Bergrstrom International Airport (ABIA) opened this morning, giving drivers headed to the airport a faster route. The ramp now connects Ben White Boulevard just east of ABIA to the Austin segment of SH 130.

Construction on this piece was delayed while electric lines were buried just west of the tollway. The completion of the bridge marks the end of almost five years of construction on the 49-mile Austin section of SH 130.

The last 40 miles of SH 130 from Mustang Ridge to Seguin will be built by a consortium led by Cintra, a Spanish tollroad operator.

More information in the news articles linked below:

Final piece of Texas 130 tollway opens Austin American-Statesman

SH 130 flyover opens near ABIA - KVUE

TXDOT opens SH 130 flyover - Austin Business Journal

Austin-American Statesman transportation columnist Ben Wear follows up on the initial test-drive of SH 130 versus IH-35 during morning rush hour traffic. With toll-road supporters noting several factors weighing against SH 130 in the initial trial, Wear and Statesman columnist Andrea Ball performed a second test under different conditions. In an admittedly unscientific experiment, Wear concludes that despite being a slightly longer route, SH 130 can save substantial time for afternoon rush-hour commuters.

In Texas 130/I-35 rematch, the winner is . . . Austin American-Statesman

Statesman columnist Ben Wear pitted SH 130 against IH-35, and was surprised to find that IH-35 won the race… but what factors contributed to the unexpected results? Wear admits that spring break likely contributed to the lighter-than-normal IH-35 traffic and that afternoon traffic is generally more congested than the morning run tested. Not to mention that SH 130 has at the very least diverted some of the through traffic that used to clog up IH-35 by diverting it around the central city.   Wear plans a re-match to compare evening rush hour traffic.

The Great Race: Texas 130 loses to I-35 - Austin American-Statesman

Segment 4 of the SH 130 project was opened today following a ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the SH 130/SH 71 Interchange. Segment 4, from SH 71 to US 183 near Mustang Ridge, is the final segment in the Central Texas Turnpike System 2002 Project (CTTS). With the opening of this Segment, all portions of the CTTS–the Loop 1 Extension, SH 45 North, and SH 130–are now open to traffic.

Tolls will not be charged on this 8.7 mile section through June and drivers with electronic toll tags will receive a 50% discount in July and a 10% discount thereafter.

Segments 5 & 6 of SH 130, which is being constructed by a different team under the state’s first privately-funded concession agreement, is expected to begin construction in 2009.

SH 130 Segment 4 Opening - TXDOT Press Release

Texas 130 in Austin area opens final stretch today - Austin American-Statesman