TxDOT Receives A Surge In Funding For Priority Projects

“The projects the CAMPO Board worked with TxDOT to recommended will bring some much-needed safety and mobility improvements to roads in central Texas.”

Central Texas’ transportation system has received a much-needed surge in funding.

The Texas Department of Transportation is working with the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization to allocate funding on many of the area’s top transportation projects in an effort to improve traffic flow and safety on several congested corridors.

“The CAMPO Policy Board is pleased to see additional funding for projects in our region,” said Hays County Commissioner Will Conley, Chairman of the CAMPO Transportation Policy Board. “The projects the CAMPO Board worked with TxDOT to recommended will bring some much-needed safety and mobility improvements to roads in central Texas.”

The project list contains around $1.3 billion worth of transportation improvements from CAMPO’s 2040 Plan and includes:

• Approximately $900 million to improve I-35, including projects at Riverside Drive, US 290 to Rundberg, Parmer Lane, Wells Branch Parkway, Williams Drive and Posey Road, as well as money set aside for the future comprehensive projects in Travis County
• About $250 million to construct over/underpasses at nine signalized intersections on Loop 360 between US 183 and US 290/SH 71
• Approximately $102 million to construct overpasses on SH 71 at Ross and Kellam Roads in Travis County, and at Tucker Hill Lane, Pope Bend Road, and FM 1209 in Bastrop County
• Around $57 million to widen US 290 to a four-lane divided roadway with median from just east of FM 696 to near FM 360 (Old Potato Road), and from FM 2104 to the Lee County line 
• Almost $8 million to add a center left-turn lane and shoulder on US 281 from RM 2147 East to just north of SH 71

“The projects approved by CAMPO are a reflection of regional cooperation,” said Terry McCoy, TxDOT Austin District Engineer. “We sincerely appreciate this opportunity to invest in our system and to improve the quality of life for our traveling public.”

The projects selected and approved December 12 by the CAMPO Transportation Policy Board are amendments to TxDOT’s 2017 Unified Transportation Plan (UTP), which is a statewide planning document designed to guide the transportation project development process over a 10-year period. The Texas Transportation Commission will review the projects for approval in February 2017.

In addition to the increased funding from TxDOT’s UTP, the passage of the city of Austin’s 2016 Mobility Bond has provided $101 million in additional funding for regional mobility projects to address congestion and enhance safety. This includes:

• $46 million to address intersections on Loop 360
• $17 million for improvements on Spicewood Springs Road east of Loop 360
• $30 million to address mobility on Anderson Mill Road from Spicewood Parkway to US Hwy 183, the intersection of RM 620 and RM 2222, and Parmer Lane between SH 45 to Brushy Creek Road
• $8 million to design and replace the Old Bee Caves Road bridge crossing at Williamson Creek.