Capital Metro Presents $9.6B Transit Plan With New Austin Rail, Bus Lines

Proposed light rail or bus lines are at the center of a new Project Connect plan for Austin that could cost up to $9.8 billion.

Transportation planners with Capital Metro presented the cost estimates for transit expansions at a joint meeting of Capital Metro’s board of directors and the Austin City Council on October 30. The bulk of the costs would go toward building two new routes, which could either be light rail or bus rapid transit lines with sections that are elevated or in tunnels in the downtown area.

The Orange line would travel north-south along North Lamar Boulevard and Guadalupe Street to downtown and parallel to South Congress Avenue. According to the plan, the Orange line could serve a range of 45,000 to 74,000 riders per day with end-to-end trips taking 42 to 53 minutes.

Blue line passengers could travel from Austin Community College’s Highland campus in Central Austin to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport by way of Lady Bird Lake and East Riverside Drive. Capital Metro officials said 30,000 to 52,000 riders could travel on this line each day with trips taking 35 to 45 minutes.

Building both the Orange and Blue lines as light rail would cost $6.3 billion to $8.1 billion. Selecting bus rapid transit for the two lines would reach $3.2 billion to $5.5 billion in costs. If both lines were to go underground in the downtown area, that would add an extra $1.9 billion to $2.3 billion.

Project Connect also features more MetroRapid bus routes and a proposed commuter rail line to the city of Manor that would use existing railroad tracks.

Capital Metro directors and Austin City Council members are scheduled to host another joint meeting in January 2020 and, in the spring, address funding options as they prepare a bond referendum for November 2020. Capital Metro would apply for federal funding that could amount to 40 percent of total project costs and then, if approved by voters, draw from future bond funds to pay for the remainder.

This article was originally published by Strategic Partnerships Inc.