HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > United States > Texas & Southcentral > Austin


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #7281  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2020, 4:51 PM
drummer drummer is offline
World Traveler
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Austin metro area
Posts: 4,468
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novacek View Post
You might have missed the date of the article.
No, that quote just made me chuckle. I saw that it was from 2014.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7282  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2020, 5:42 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by drummer View Post
No, that quote just made me chuckle. I saw that it was from 2014.
Swing and a miss.

Last edited by freerover; Nov 21, 2020 at 6:03 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7283  
Old Posted Nov 21, 2020, 2:54 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...-projects.html

Project Connect train lines, expanded Austin Convention Center expected to connect under downtown streets

Both plans call for development under Trinity Street

By Kathryn Hardison – Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal

Nov 20, 2020, 1:58pm EST

On paper, two of Austin's biggest long-term projects appear to collide.

Both the newly approved Project Connect transit plan and the westward expansion of the Austin Convention Center require underground development beneath Trinity Street between Cesar Chavez and Fourth streets, according to project documents.

But officials with both Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Austin Convention Center Department said a partnership is in the works to create a cohesive development that will benefit both projects.

Those efforts — which would result in two underground train stops downtown and an expanded convention center hub — would help transform downtown Austin in the coming years. They would also generate extensive construction throughout the area as crews dig beneath a swath of eastern downtown.

Officials at both agencies declined to disclose specific details about what this collaboration may look like, pointing out that the groups are still in the early planning stages. And the head of Capital Metro stressed that the development of the transit project is still far off.

Trisha Tatro, interim director of the Convention Center Department, said in a statement that the convention center expansion team is working with Capital Metro "on integrating the designs for both plans into one seamless development," and there might be some construction cost savings from the collaboration. Austin City Council last year endorsed a $1.1 billion plan to expand the convention center west of Trinity Street. The project is still years away, and department officials are working on purchasing agreements for the sites they will need to enlarge the facility.

"As the design phase of the Austin Convention Center expansion moves forward, we will continue this coordination," Tatro said.

Voters approved this month the $7.1 billion Project Connect plan — which includes more train lines for the city as well as a downtown transit tunnel — and a subsequent hike in property tax rates to help fund the construction.

The tunnel is planned between underground stops at Republic Square and the Austin Convention Center, connecting the far-reaching train lines planned in Project Connect.
The side of the tunnel near the convention center is where the two projects seems to clash because the master plan for that facility's expansion outlines that the project must have rights under Trinity Street between Cesar Chavez and Fourth streets for "contiguous below-grade development."

There's also a third piece to the puzzle. Manifold Real Estate wants to build a 47-story office tower with ground-floor retail at 320 E. Second St., which is on the north side of Second Street between San Jacinto Boulevard and Trinity Street. The planned tower would stand in the path of the convention center expansion.

Officials with Manifold could not be reached for comment by press time. Tyler Grooms, principal with the firm, previously declined to comment.

There is a possibility that the city and Manifold could work together on the tower. According to previous ABJ reporting, a partnership was being explored earlier this year for a "vertically integrated tower/convention center expansion."

Capital Metro President and CEO Randy Clarke said his team is working to integrate the Project Connect infrastructure into the convention center expansion, including "vertical development." Ideas are being considered about how a Project Connect concourse could be connected to that development, he said. That type of collaboration could lead to less parking in the area because of access to the rail stations.
But at the same time, Clarke said the groups are working to make it possible for the convention center expansion to include what is referenced in the master plan as a "contiguous exhibit hall" below Trinity Street, while also effectively getting people in and out of the station.

"The volume of people that will be coming in and out of convention center and the linkage between all the lines — it is incredibly important," Clarke said. "It will certainly feed all the hotels and bars and restaurants there and the innovation district."

The downtown station is envisioned as a multi-level station that many people can access around the convention center. The Blue and Gold train lines would run underground, while the existing Red Line and a potential future Green Line could service the station above ground.

Clarke said the project teams still have to go through the design process, but the idea is to create "the largest underground footprint" possible in the downtown area.

That means the station needs to run as far south as possible for people on Cesar Chavez Street to have access, perhaps even pulling in people from the Rainey Street area, which is a short walk away.

Clarke called the station planned at Republic Square the "Grand Central Station" of Project Connect — because of its expected traffic — while the downtown station under the convention center could be, in turn, compared to New York City's other large train hub, Penn Station.

The Blue Line and Orange Line of the light rail system are both planned to have stops at Republic Square.

"These are two incredibly large transportation stations that will very, very much connect the whole city and region together," Clarke said.

Project Connect is a series of transit projects scheduled over the next several years in Austin. Preliminary engineering, design and procurement work for the Orange and Blue lines would take about three or four years after Project Connect is funded. It would take another four or five years to construct and commission the lines.


-#-
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7284  
Old Posted Nov 21, 2020, 5:20 PM
We vs us We vs us is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 3,587
Really interesting article. Tatro's response -- "there may actually be some cost savings" for a combined approach -- leads me to believe they've identified a way forward but might not be able to announce yet. I mean, you only know if there's potential costs savings if you've drilled down into budgeting details for a specific plan. No one's gonna drop a nugget like that if there's nothing real to point to.

I think it's very exciting, TBH. I kinda wish we could put this development on llama speed because in 5 years we'll know what we're getting from a CC/transpo perspective, and in 10 years, we'll not only have that, but a direction for all the lots the CC redevelopment is freeing up.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7285  
Old Posted Nov 22, 2020, 5:49 PM
ATX2030 ATX2030 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2020
Posts: 791
Will they be using a boring machine or cut and cap construction for the tunnel(s)?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7286  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2020, 4:03 AM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by ATX2030 View Post
Will they be using a boring machine or cut and cap construction for the tunnel(s)?
probably both.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7287  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2020, 4:16 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
DEADLINE EXTENDED! ATP Board applications are accepted until Dec. 2 at 5 p.m.
If you’re a community expert with the requested qualifications, email a resume & letter of interest to ATP.Board@austintransitpartnership.org
For more info, visit austintransitpartnership.org
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7288  
Old Posted Dec 3, 2020, 7:25 PM
drummer drummer is offline
World Traveler
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Austin metro area
Posts: 4,468
Quote:
TxDOT proposes elevated HOV lanes along south I-35 near SH 71

TxDOT officials are proposing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes stretching along the entire section. Only vehicles with two or more people will be allowed to drive on them. TxDOT would elevate the HOV lanes between a section of SH 71 and Slaughter Lane. This way, they will have space to build a southbound I-35 intersection bypass lane at Stassney Lane and William Cannon Drive. The bypass lane will allow drivers to skip the light.

They would also widen the north and southbound I-35 frontage roads to three lanes south of Slaughter Lane and add two-and-a-half miles of auxiliary lanes to enter and exit the highway as well as braided ramps northbound at Slaughter Lane. TxDOT said all of these improvements will keep drivers moving safely.
https://www.kxan.com/traffic/txdot-p...35-near-sh-71/
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7289  
Old Posted Dec 3, 2020, 7:34 PM
Echostatic's Avatar
Echostatic Echostatic is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: ATX
Posts: 1,360
This is for a portion of I-35 Capital Express South, not Capital Express Central. This project starts construction much sooner in 2022.
__________________
It can be done, if we have the will.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7290  
Old Posted Dec 3, 2020, 7:39 PM
drummer drummer is offline
World Traveler
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Austin metro area
Posts: 4,468
Quote:
Originally Posted by Echostatic View Post
This is for a portion of I-35 Capital Express South, not Capital Express Central. This project starts construction much sooner in 2022.
I was wondering about that but it's just what was in the article. When is it supposed to start?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7291  
Old Posted Dec 3, 2020, 7:47 PM
Echostatic's Avatar
Echostatic Echostatic is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: ATX
Posts: 1,360
Capital Express South (expansion from Ben White to SH45 South) starts work in 2022. The article-mentioned elevated express lanes are part of Capital Express South. Capital Express Central (expansion from Ben White to US 290 North) starts work in 2025. That's the much larger express lanes project downtown that this thread talked about a few weeks ago.
__________________
It can be done, if we have the will.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7292  
Old Posted Dec 10, 2020, 5:18 AM
ATX_21 ATX_21 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 6
Delete
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7293  
Old Posted Dec 10, 2020, 5:29 AM
ATX_21 ATX_21 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 6
Possible Downtown Connector
https://www.austinmonitor.com/storie...ransit-routes/
Quote:
The Downtown Austin Alliance is looking for resident and visitor feedback on two proposed transit routes it hopes will make traveling between different parts of downtown faster and more convenient.
Quote:
The proposed downtown circulator routes, which would serve downtown, South Congress and some of East Austin, are open to public feedback on the DAA’s online survey through Dec. 11. The DAA hopes to launch a pilot of the chosen route by 2021.

Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7294  
Old Posted Dec 10, 2020, 2:30 PM
drummer drummer is offline
World Traveler
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Austin metro area
Posts: 4,468
Quote:
Originally Posted by ATX_21 View Post
Interesting, I'll be watching this.

By the way, the two maps copied there made me take a second look - I thought the bottom circulator was between the river and Ben White until I saw the river again...
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7295  
Old Posted Dec 10, 2020, 3:01 PM
ATXboom ATXboom is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,819
Nice routes. Clearly geared toward entertainment.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7296  
Old Posted Dec 10, 2020, 9:15 PM
Maximusx1's Avatar
Maximusx1 Maximusx1 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 257
I've been hoping this would happen. An electric 'Dillo' circulator serving West 6th - Dirty 6th - Rainey Street would be immensely useful and popular. It would decrease short uber rides and drunken scooter decisions.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7297  
Old Posted Dec 11, 2020, 3:33 PM
Echostatic's Avatar
Echostatic Echostatic is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: ATX
Posts: 1,360
__________________
It can be done, if we have the will.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7298  
Old Posted Dec 11, 2020, 3:58 PM
drummer drummer is offline
World Traveler
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Austin metro area
Posts: 4,468
So the old bridge is for bikes/pedestrians now? That's awesome! I didn't realize that was part of the plan (or perhaps forgot).
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7299  
Old Posted Dec 14, 2020, 9:28 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
Capital Metro board gave the greenlight today to ~$40 million worth of preliminary engineering for Orange and Blue light rail lines.



Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7300  
Old Posted Dec 14, 2020, 9:56 PM
Tyrone Shoes Tyrone Shoes is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 398
Quote:
Originally Posted by Echostatic View Post
Just thinking out loud but the old Montopolis bridge over the Colorado River would be perfect for light rail from downtown to the airport....
__________________
Good night Austin Texas where ever you are..." Frank Zappa
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > United States > Texas & Southcentral > Austin
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 9:04 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.