MoPac renovations soon underway

MoPac renovations soon underway

By Bobby Longoria Wednesday, 07 July 2010

AUSTIN — Idling behind rows of cars and trucks linked bumper to bumper may be a thing of the past for commuters who choose to travel on MoPac after several renovations are implemented within the next few years as part of the MoPac Improvement Project.

Alongside MoPac near the intersection of 35th Street and Jackson Avenue Wednesday morning, state senator Kirk Watson along with several other transportation authority officials detailed the project, which aims to reduce traffic congestion on MoPac and improve the quality of life for those living along the corridor.

"The truth is that traffic will probably never flow like it did in 1975," Watson said. "And it will never be as quiet living along the road as it was before, but it can be better. The MoPac Improvement Project is a significant effort."

The first of several improvements will repave MoPac between FM 2222 and Lady Bird Lake. The Texas Department of Transportation will repave the road with a speciality asphalt that will reduce road noise, increase traction, reduce water spray from other vehicles and reduce hydroplaning by eliminating standing water.

Deirdre Delisi, chair of the Texas Transportation Commission, said the asphalt improvements should be finished by the end of September. After this first project, the department will adjust northbound MoPac to alleviate the bottleneck that occurs between the Enfield Road exit and the Cesar Chavez street entrance ramp. The changes made will add a third northbound lane at the Enfield road exit ramp.

The next project aims to increase MoPac's capacity by adding an express lane on both southbound and northbound MoPac from Lady Bird Lake to Parmer Lane. Watson said the lanes will reduce congestion and improve transit reliability as well as fund the construction of sound barriers along MoPac.

The express lane will have changes in cost throughout the day in order to provide an incentive to people to use it at varying times of day. Delisi said the ultimate goal of the project is to provide more transportation choices and encourage the use of mass transit and carpooling.

Construction of the express lanes cannot begin before an environmental assessment is completed, which will review any potential environmental impact the lanes may have. Watson said the assessment typically takes three years, but he hopes with an unified effort by the several participating agencies that this time could be reduced to two years.

Ray Wilkerson, chairman of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, said the assessment is projected to finish in 2013. Watson said he hopes to have a ribbon cutting for the express lane project in less than five years.

Austin's traffic congestion problem cannot be solved by just expanding highways, but by approaching the problem with several transportation alternatives as well, said Austin City Manager Marc Ott.

"The solution is a seamless multi-modal transportation system," Ott said. "We all have to be in this together, the problem is here. It takes all of us at the table engaged and trying to find a practical cost effective solution to these problems."

Ott said the City Council will consider a transportation bond proposal that will ask voters to make more investments in roads, transits, bicycle and pedestrian utilities in order to further address Austin's mobility challenges. If voters support  and vote for the bond it will rally city dollars with state, regional and federal money to make further improvements in connecting MoPac with downtown.

Watson said the project would not have been at its current state in development had it not been for the cooperation of the mobility authority, the commission, the department and the MoPac Neighborhood Associations Coalition.

Kay Newell, president of the coalition, said she has lived near MoPac and FM 2222 for 26 years and in that time she has seen dramatic change. She no longer drives before 9:30 a.m., when traffic is at its heaviest, and noise along the expressway is so loud it often vibrates the houses near it.

She is hopeful that the project may not only improve MoPac, but may change people's perspective on how they travel around town.

"I am hoping it will change everybody's mindset and get them into some other mode of transportation other than one person, one car," Newell said. "I think this is the beginning step to change that philosophy."