| Work Detail |
The US$ 7.1bn City of Austin’s Project Connect, which was approved by Austin voters in the election of November 2020, has moved forward with its latest groundbreaking on the Pleasant Valley MetroRapid Line, one of the 4 MetroRapid lines that connect the northeast and southeast regions of the city.
The new Pleasant Valley MetroRapid Line, which is among a series of projects under the Project Connect transit plan, will feature all-electric buses, along a route that cuts across East Austin from Mueller all the way to the future Goodnight Ranch Park & Ride. The bus corridor project will add 15 new stations, with bus stops positioned at key destinations, which include Riverside, ACC Eastview, Dove Springs, and McKinney Falls.
Capital Metro(Cap Metro), which has been working together with the city on the Project Connect transit plan, said the new MetroRapid Line will enhance the frequency and quality of public transit services and also provide more options for neighborhoods in East and South Austin. The CEO of Cap Metro, Randy Clarke, also mentioned that the all-electric, zero-emission fleet of buses used for this new line, shows the company’s sustainability commitment to the city
Other facets of Project Connect are also in progress and with the engineering teams nearing the project’s 30% design threshold.
Design changes to the City of Austin’s Project Connect
The City of Austin’s Project Connect heads reviewed some of the roadway design changes that drivers, pedestrians, and other users should expect as the project progresses.
These design changes have been approved following the collaboration between CapMetro, Austin Transit Partnership (ATP), the city, and the community’s feedback. The project-wide elements will be added to areas along with the Orange and Blue light rail projects, which are also under Project Connect.
Some of these modifications along the Orange and Blue light rail routes include the addition of U-turns at some signalized intersections, to enable drivers to access private driveways and other destinations; on-street parking changes, which will involve either modifying or removing the back-in angled parking along with South Congress between Milton Street and Gibson Street, plus the removal of parking areas along Guadalupe Street between 41st Street and 43rd Street, as well as The Drag.
Other design changes in store for the City of Austin’s Project Connect include the addition of pedestrian crossings at stations and some lane alterations. Signalized pedestrian crossings will be provided for every station along the Blue and Orange rail line routes. The crossings will be added at both ends of each station to accommodate incoming and outgoing traffic.
In addition, the lanes between I-35 and Hwy. 183 along Riverside Drive, will be modified and one lane will be removed in each direction; this will allow the insertion of the light rail lines and enable more reliable safe transit.
Federal Funding for the project
Cap Metro has partnered with the Federal Transit Administration to work on Project Connect and is seeking federal funds to finance part of the project’s cost. This was discussed recently in a meeting between the CapMetro leaders; Nuria Fernandez, an administrator of the Federal Transit Administration; and U.S. Rep Lloyd Doggett.
Lloyd Doggett mentioned that the partnership between CapMetro and the Federal Transit Administration was crucial for the success of the Project Connect transit plan, as the plan was for nearly half of the project’s US$ 7bn price tag to be covered by federal funds.
Randy Clarke also pointed out that the US$1 trillion infrastructure bill signed by Joe Biden would go a long way in advancing various phases of Protect Connect.
Project overview
Project Connect is a transit expansion project that is being carried out by the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro), a public transportation provider in the city of Austin, Texas.
With this project, Capital Metro will add two light rail lines (MetroRail Blue Line and MetroRail Orange Line), one bus rapid transit line, and one commuter rail line (Green Line) to the already existing Red Line, which will also undergo major improvements as part of the project.
The MetroRail Blue Line will operate on a 24 km stretch from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to North Lamar, with a total of 20 statins, while on the other hand, with a total of 22 stations, the MetroRail Orange Line will be approximately 34 km long linking slaughter and North Lamar/Tech Ridge. |
