Seriously. I remember when all the kerfuffle about new toll roads was going on in the mid 2000s, lots of people were questioning why 360 wasn't a part of any of the plans. It was ridiculous to drive on back then....I mean rush hour traffic was so frustrating with all the stop lights. Just needed overpasses. 183 East could have been built this way as well. Now we have more tolls there. Funny how on the west side where's it's full of millionaires who can easily afford daily tolling, there aren't going to be new tollways.

One of the many things that makes Texas unique. I recall commercials a couple decades ago that ended with something like- "Texas, it's like a whole 'nother country". We're so independent we could probably pull it off. Did you know about our electrical grid? Highly likely that we'll be better off if/when a SHTF scenario ever happens.
https://www.bryantelectricservice.co...wn-power-grid/
https://www.vox.com/ad/16682890/texa...grid-explained
https://www.texastribune.org/2011/02...wn-power-grid/

There are certainly pros and cons. Many exits are very difficult to merge onto the road in which signage states the exit name. For example, exiting to Airport Blvd off of southbound i35. Extremely difficult in heavy traffic because of the existing access (feeder) road traffic. You have to cross 2-3 lanes, that's assuming drivers let you over. Same with getting into westbound Duval off southbound Mopac. On the pro side, sure makes getting back on the freeway easy if you miss an exit. I briefly lived in CA and noticed they had no access roads, so when I would miss my turn, I had to take the next one.....then navigate around a neighborhood I was deep into (before the days of GPS). Sometimes it took me an extra 1/2hr to find my way back on the freeway. Or "THE 5", "THE 110", "THE 405" ..... like they say out there....

There's also not going to be additional lanes (free and tolled) either.

Or ramps to the connecting highways (there'll still be stoplights at Mopac on both ends).

These are the targeted early out projects for the corridor project in 2020:

• Burnet Road intersections (Koenig, Braker)
• South Lamar enhanced multimodal improvements (Riverside to Barton Springs IIRC)
• North Lamar Boulevard and East Riverside Drive (Critical Safety and Mobility Improvements)
• CAMPO-funded projects
-William Cannon (SW Prky to McKinney Falls Prky)
-Slaughter Lane (FM 1826 to Vertex Blvd.)

Stassney bridge over I35 has been demolished.

It's funny because my parents waited YEARS for that stupid bridge to get built. They lived east of 35 on Wagon Bend. In the mid-80s, we built a house off Slaughter/Manchaca. Then the Stassney bridge was built.

Now it's gone.

Yep. We needed to use it today. Imagine our surprise when we discovered it wasn't there. :D

I can remember before Stassney was built between Congress & I-35. We had to take Congress all the way down to Ben White to get out to some land my parents had in Cedar Creek. We rarely took the William Cannon bridge even then unless we were heading south on I-35.

Cool article about the future challenges of electric buses

https://www.austinmonitor.com/storie...-bus-contract/
by Ryan Thornton

I think you meant https://www.austinmonitor.com/storie...-bus-contract/


It's an interesting discussion, especially in regards to what it means for mode decisions on Project Connect.

I'm very confident battery technology and ranges will continue to improve. But with a mode decision coming up in just a few months, will CM commit to electric buses for the main orange/blue trunks when it's not (quite) yet commercially available now for the long term range needs?
Or will they be willing to choose it, with the understanding that the system won't be running for years, with further years until the maximum range needs (when orange line is extended up to Tech Ridge, etc.).

At least I'm assuming the long-term Orange Line is one of the extreme lengths they're talking about.

Similarly, what does that mean for the yellow line (which is another long one, and possibly longer than Orange to start)?

Thanks for correcting the link. That's an interesting point about mode. I think they are suppose to finally pick one in December. I would still be shocked to see LRT given how much they want to build in phase 1 and the ROW constraints that will necessitate expensive grade separation. How much bond capacity does the city have?






The open house for the new BRT lines is sept 24th 5:30-7:30 p.m at the downtown library.

The prospective lines won't have their own lanes (with the possible exception of the Expo Center line down Berkman in Muller) but will have priority at intersections and will run as fast as possible as oppose to stopping periodically to stay on schedule.

The lines are:
Expo Center (Downtown, UT East, Muller, Loyola rd)
Burnet/S Lamar / Manchaca (Domain to Oak Hill and Ford Oaks)
Crosstown 7th St (Red Bud to Shady Ln)
Pleasant Valley (Muller to McKinney Falls)
Parmer (Lakeline to Manor)
ACC (Highland to Tech Ridge)
MLK (UT to Springdale)

Is this documented somewhere, or a guess on your part?


Another place that (theoretically) has RoW for exclusive lanes is part of the Burnet line (basically the section from the Domain down to Anderson Lane). It's also unclear to me what happens where the Orange and Yellow lines overlap (it would be a shame to force the yellow BRT to wait through traffic in those sections).

The only documented part is that they've identified that Beckman median for transit. From the Manor Dean Keaten flip book,
I'm guess guessing that even the lower investment for these corridors could include re-doing the Beckman median since it will be relatively inexpensive.

Fair enough, but then I'd claim that the Domain area of Burnet is in about the same boat. At the time, it was part of the North Lamar flip book.

https://www.capmetro.org/uploadedFil...ook_032818.pdf

"US 183/Rundberg/Burnet
Potential to partner with TxDOT to use
extensive ROW along US 183 from Lamar
to Burnet to connect to Northgate Blvd
and Rundberg Ln, where a station could be
built to connect existing apartments to the
multiple job opportunities found along the
rest of the corridor. High capacity transit
(HCT) could join Burnet Road to reach the
Domain, taking advantage of dedicated lanes
envisioned by the City of Austin’s N Burnet
corridor plan, which is eligible for 2016
mobility bond construction funding.
Anderson Ln/Burnet
The other most likely option would be to
deviate from N Lamar at Anderson Lane.
This would provide an opportunity to
add a station near the Anderson/Burnet
intersection, which could transform into
a transit supportive node of mixed-use
development. Although the City of Austin’s
N Burnet Corridor Plan does not envision
dedicated transit facilities south of US 183,
ample ROW exists to construct HCT and
maintain existing travel and bicycle lanes
and improve pedestrian amenities."

For both Berkman and Burnet, there's documented previous ideas to have transit-only lanes.
Whether the initial 2020 plan will include them is still unknown.

ehhhhh, they aren't really in the same boat. Berkman was designed for future transit down the median which is why nothing is there. Burnet would require much more extensive work requiring shifting auto lanes and moving power lines according to the old corridor study. That doesn't mean I don't think it's worth it but I don't think it would be in the same "gimme" category that I think Berkman is in.

https://i.ibb.co/wc84srZ/Screen-Shot...1-43-07-AM.png

https://i.ibb.co/nrZRJ3T/Screen-Shot...1-46-58-AM.jpg

Rehab work is going to start on the old Monopolis bridge next month. It'll remain open to pedestrians during the day.

http://austin.culturemap.com/news/ci...mAyI803xcd5Puo

Took long enough.

Reminder that I-35's design and ramp layouts haven't changed since the 1960s, with the exception of the upper deck. No new lanes have been added downtown since 1975. Since then, the region has grown by over 1.5 million people and nationwide truck traffic has massively increased. Widening I-35 should have happened ages ago, it'll be much more painful now but worth it in the long run. I like the proposed non-tolled managed lanes. HOV or truck applications stick out to me.