- Public Sees Latest Revisions To TxDOT’s Plan For Austin I-35 Capex Project
- Buttigieg Touts Federal Funding To Make Transportation Infrastructure Climate-Resilient
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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Public Sees Latest Revisions To TxDOT’s Plan For Austin I-35 Capex Project
KUT reports, recent revisions to TxDOT’s controversial plans for the I-35 Capital Express Central Project in Austin were made public when a July 19 letter from Mayor Kirk Watson was posted online by three city council members. The estimated $4.5 billion, eight-year project slated to begin in early 2024 will add two (non-tolled) managed lanes to the downtown highway, demolish its upper decks and rebuild bridge crossings. Sections of the interstate also may be capped to allow for construction of two-story buildings on top. But the final designs are far from settled. “Adjustments to the once-in-a-generation project include the possibility of covering larger sections of the highway north of downtown, constructing a $25 million boardwalk on Lady Bird Lake and filtering stormwater runoff into the Colorado River.” The article includes more details about proposed changes to the design and summarizes the response from local groups that have weighed in on the project — whether advocating to bury the interstate through the urban core or altogether replacing it with an urban boulevard. The reactions expressed by the groups and the city council trio who published the mayor’s letter range from tepid satisfaction with some of the design changes to suggested improvements and criticism of TxDOT for negotiating changes behind closed doors.
Austin (TX) Metro Area Environmental Protection Policies Procedures And Initiatives Express Lanes Texas Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)Buttigieg Touts Federal Funding To Make Transportation Infrastructure Climate-Resilient
USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Utah last Friday to promote federal funding for transportation infrastructure projects that build resilience to extreme weather events and natural disasters in the face of climate change, WTVC reports. The Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation Program (PROTECT) offers $7.3 billion over five years for projects such as enlarging culverts, building retention ponds, improving evacuation routes, upgrading bridges and improving safety features on wildfire-prone roadways. Pointing to the recent impacts of climate change, Buttigieg commented, “We don’t have time to debate whether this is urgent anymore. We have to get to work, and we are.” The secretary “was joined at the news conference by Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican. Cox praised the federal program as a way to shore up against extreme weather events while not sacrificing other necessary transportation projects.” Cox said his state’s share of the funding would be allocated by state transportation officials as it comes in.
Climate Change & Infrastructure Resilience Environmental Protection Policies Procedures And Initiatives Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Maintenance US Gov't Transportation Funding US Infrastructure Funding And Financing Initiatives Utah Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT)These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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