After months of refusing to answer questions, UT Austin is breaking its silence on plans for covering I-35 with giant decks from 15th Street to Dean Keeton and adding 17 acres to the campus.

They wanna do it but it could cost $400 million.

kut.org/transportation… This is where UT's $400 million decks/caps would go. Technically, it's three caps.

Cap one: ~3 acres, $61m build, $2.5 million in annual maintenance

Cap two: 9.5 acres, $198m build, $4.4m in annual maintenance

Cap three: ~5 acres, $135m build, $3.3m annual maintenance

Behind the scenes, changes are being made to the I-35 expansion through Central Austin. We're only finding out about the latest tweaks because council members @chitovela3, @ryanalter and @ZoForAustin published a two-week old letter from Mayor Kirk Watson. kut.org/transportation… Not familiar with I-35 CapEx Central Project? The plan includes:
- larger highway footprint
- two HOV lanes in each direction from Ben White to 290 East
- lowering lanes for much of the distance from Oltorf St to Airport Blvd
- removing upper decks
- new interchanges like this

Capital Metro is switching out the old green MetroBus shelters in the foreground with the slimmer silver ones in the background.

Some people really hate the new ones! But CapMetro insists they're better.

https://t.co/L2tK7ziJYnkut.org/transportation…
The simmering frustration boiled over a few weeks ago when CapMetro CEO Dottie Watkins tweeted this comparison of the two shelters.

"It wasn't the best crafted tweet we ever had," Watkins conceded. "We probably didn't use the best pictures."

https://twitter.com/CapMetroCEO/status/1674479151288295424

BREAKING: The Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) is throwing its weight behind a 9.8 mile on-street light-rail system. This is the formal recommendation after a six-week public input process.

kut.org/transportation… Here's a DocumentCloud link to the infographic: documentcloud.org/documents/2382…

and a PDF link: s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2382…

The Texas Senate today passed the House bill requiring @ATP_org hold elections before borrowing money through bonds or loans. Looks like HB 3899 was amended in the Senate so House will have to approve again. capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/His…

Background: kut.org/transportation… The Senate amendment has not been posted here yet. capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Ame…

I wasn’t following the Senate today, so I’m curious what this amendment was.

Another threat has emerged against Austin's plans to build a light-rail system.

The Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) is out with a legal opinion raising concerns about how the city is paying for the $5 billion light-rail plan.

texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/… The funding plan basically works like this:
- Austin voters approved 20.789% increase in city's "maintenance and operations" (M&O) property tax in 2020.
- ATP was created to receive the tax revenue and borrow against it (bonds) to raise money for large upfront costs of light-rail

Austin is moving ahead with a $30 million plan to widen Spicewood Springs Road from two/three lanes to four lanes with median between Mesa Drive and Loop 360.

This has been in the works for years, but now the city's inviting contractors to put in bids.

financeonline.austintexas.gov/afo/account_se… Here are some typical cross-sections for the Spicewood Springs Road project. Right now, there's a bike lane in the eastbound direction only. Those sidewalks/shared-use paths will be eight-feet wide.

Today was Austin's biggest Bike To Work Day yet with 45 stations around the city offering breakfast tacos, waffles, orange juice, bike lights, tune-ups and a lot of encouragement.

But 99% of Austin workers don't commute by bike.

kut.org/transportation… Lots of reasons people don't bike to work:

🌡️ Scorching heat
🏙️ Expansive sprawl
💦 Drenching sweat
🚲 Can't ride a bike
⏰ Takes too long
🔒 No secure bike parking
💼 Gotta carry stuff
😴 Too tired

But the biggest obstacle to biking, according to numerous studies is..🥁

Get ready for five years of construction on I-35 in North Austin. A $606 million expansion project is getting underway now from U.S. 290 East to SH45 in Round Rock.

Let's take a closer look at what's going on here.

kut.org/2023-03-29/con… This TxDOT video is probably the quickest way to visualize what their plans are. Basically:
- One HOV lane in each direction
- Reconstruct six bridges at Grand Avenue, Howard, Rundburg, Braker, Wells Branch Parkway and frontage road bridge over Walnut Creek

NEW: Austin Transit Partnership Board of Directors member Tony Elkins is leaving the five-member board overseeing Austin's light-rail buildout. ATP says this memo is being circulated to the Austin City Council, ATP board members and the CapMetro board. documentcloud.org/documents/2372… Elkins has been an outspoken member on the board demanding more financial transparency prior to the April 2022 memo revealing the initial cost increases. documentcloud.org/documents/2158….

CapMetro says a temporary police station for the transit police force the agency's creating should be done by the end the year.

Background: kut.org/transportation… CapMetro's chief police administrator Eric Robins gave some more details on staffing today, saying they plan to have 47 sworn officers hired by 2027.

BREAKING: Five new light-rail options are being unveiled to Austin right now. The plans are significantly scaled back from the 28-mile map shown to voters before the November 2020 election. kut.org/transportation… This was the map attached to city council's "Contract with the Voters" in 2020: documentcloud.org/documents/2370…
Two light-rail lines, a downtown subway with underground shopping, a station at the airport. All up and running around the end of the decade.

1/ WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ZILKER PARK MINI-TRAIN? It's been almost four-years since heavy rains washed out the tracks, making this the longest Zilker Park has been without a miniature train since the Austin Eagle began chugging along in 1961.
kut.org/austin/2023-01… 2/ I thought this was going to be an easy evergreen story for the holidays, especially after reading a post on the Austin Parks Foundation's Facebook page that seemed to boil everything down to some unexpected braking problems. But the more I kept digging the weirder things got.

NEW: Austin Energy is doubling rebates for customers who buy electric bicycles. Starting January 1, 2023:

🚲 $500-$999 e-bike = $200 rebate
🚲 $1,000-$1,999 e-bike = $400 rebate
🚲 $2,000+ e-bike = $600 rebate

Electric scooters/electric mopeds are included. People with low incomes who participate in Austin Energy's Customer Assistance Program (which provides utility bill discounts) can get even bigger rebates. The details are in this memo. documentcloud.org/documents/2330…

1/ CapMetro has been on a reduced schedule since September mainly because of a driver shortage. In February, I asked then-CEO Randy Clarke when the schedule would be restored. He said they "expect" to return to full service in August. That's not happening. kut.org/transportation… 2/ For context: in September, 17 routes had their frequency reduced: 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 17, 18, 20, 217, 300, 311, 325, 333, 335 and 337. MetroRapid routes 801 and 803 have service reduced to 20 mins on weekdays from 8 pm-10pm. Late-night service on MetroRapid routes ends earlier.

1/ The mess at @AUStinAirport this morning was the result of a region outgrowing its airport. A $4 billion airport expansion is going to take years. So now, the growing pains are really starting to show. And it could get worse before it gets better.

kut.org/transportation… 2/ The busiest time at ABIA is usually early mornings. Today, TSA screened 8,252 passengers before 8 a.m. That’s about 1,600 more than normal. So the line stretched through the Barbara Jordan Terminal, out the door, down the length of the terminal outside and then some.

What is going on with Austin's $7.1 billion transit expansion? We're supposed to get more Project Connect details now during a joint meeting of the city council, CapMetro board and ATP board. I'll tweet some stuff in this thread. It's also live on ATXN: austintexas.gov/watch-atxn-live CapMetro Deputy CEO Dottie Watkins is starting with this presentation. austintexas.gov/edims/document…

2/ TxDOT, they said, should pay for caps and stitches (coverings over the highway and wide bridges). They point to the @CAMPOTexas board (members include local mayors and county commissioners) voting to defer "nearly one billion dollars" in projects to devote to I-35 expansion. @CAMPOTexas 3/ The council majority wants TxDOT to ensure the four new HOV lanes could be converted to toll lanes. The @TxDOTCommission won't authorize toll lanes now, but council members want to leave the door open. I had a story today about the toll idea. kut.org/transportation…