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First project to improve RM 2222 now complete
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A ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the completion of a widening project on RM 2222. (Courtesy Texas Department of Transportation)
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A project adding travel lanes to RM 2222 to improve mobility has opened, and the Texas Department of Transportation is working on an additional project in the area to reduce congestion.
TxDOT celebrated the completion of the RM 2222 project from Bonaventure Drive to Ribelin Ranch Drive with a ribbon-cutting on Oct. 29. The project added a through-travel lane eastbound on RM 2222 from Bonaventure Drive to Sitio Del Rio Boulevard and westbound from Ribelin Ranch Drive to River Place Boulevard. Turn lanes and raised medians were also built within the project limits.
TxDOT is also working on a project in the area to add a bypass road along RM 620 north of Steiner Ranch Boulevard. The road opened to northbound traffic in August. The southbound direction will open at a later date, and the project is expected to complete in early 2022.
The City of Austin contributed $7.5 million to the total $33.6 million project cost through its 2016 Mobility Bond Regional Mobility Program, which focuses on major roadways and intersections. Approximately $203,500 of city funds went to the RM 2222 widening project, with approximately $7.3 million in bond funding going to the bypass project.
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MoPac South project study restarts; open house coming in November
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Courtesy Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
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A long-planned project study in South Austin is moving forward again. After a lengthy pause, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority and Texas Department of Transportation have resumed efforts on the MoPac South project study, which proposes to add one or two express lanes on an 8-mile stretch of MoPac between Cesar Chavez Street and Slaughter Lane.
The Mobility Authority opened an express lane on MoPac north of the area being studied—from Cesar Chavez Street to Parmer Lane—in 2017. Since it opened, the express lane has reduced travel times, increased use of transit and created an option for more reliable travel on MoPac.
The public will be able to provide feedback at a virtual open house available from 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 22, 2021 through 11:59 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. Six express lane options will be presented at the open house, in addition to the no build alternative required by the federal environmental process.
Those six proposals are:
• 1A: One express lane + downtown direct connection
• 1B: One express lane without downtown direct connection
• 2A: Two express lanes + downtown direct connection
• 2B: Two express lanes without downtown direct connection
• 2C: Two express lanes + elevated ramps near Barton Skyway
• 3: City of Austin proposal
The Mobility Authority anticipates holding an additional open house in 2022, followed by a public hearing in 2024.
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As national data spotlights traffic deaths, Austin steps up public education of driving behaviors
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Last week, we covered a tragic trend in Austin and nationwide: while traffic volumes are still slightly lower than their pre-pandemic levels in Austin, vehicle crash fatalities are on the rise.
New data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows an estimated 20,160 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the U.S. between January and June 2021. This is an 18.4% increase from the same period in 2020 and represents the highest number of fatalities in the first half of the year since 2006.
“This is a crisis. More than 20,000 people died on U.S. roads in the first six months of 2021, leaving countless loved ones behind. We cannot and should not accept these fatalities as simply a part of everyday life in America,” said United States Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Austin Transportation’s Vision Zero team is working on local solutions to reverse this trend. Using a data-driven approach, the team is focused on delivering projects with safer designs and with an emphasis on appropriate speeds for safe outcomes because speed is the primary factor that determines crash severity. Examples of those improvements include new roadway signs, traffic signal upgrades, better street lighting and pedestrian hybrid beacons, which alert drivers to pedestrians crossing the roadway where there is no signal.
Coupled with design improvements, public education about dangerous driving habits is key to changing behavior. Austin Transportation is launching a multi-channel awareness campaign this fall to educate the public on basic actions they can take to avoid the four most dangerous driving behaviors that cause severe crashes and fatalities on Austin streets: distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding and failing to yield.
The campaign, which will include English and Spanish messages via billboards, Capital Metro bus wraps, digital and social media, print, radio and television, will coincide with the holiday season, when crashes and fatalities usually rise.
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Calendar Corner: November 1 – 7, 2021
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The Pedestrian Advisory Council advises the City of Austin and other jurisdictions on all matters relating to walking.
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The Urban Transportation Commission makes recommendations to City Council on transportation-related matters, including energy-efficient transportation, transit service, active transportation options, taxicab franchises and provisions to best serve those with mobility impairments.
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