Austin, Texas – The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) held its third and final meeting on Thursday night to hear what people think about a study aimed at improving travel between Austin and San Antonio via the I-35 corridor.
These meetings, happening this week, mark the beginning of what might be a long process, possibly taking years, before any construction starts. However, the conversation wasn’t just about making the roads wider. It also covered what else people might want, like special lanes for high-occupancy vehicles or a train service for commuters.
Tina Beecham, who moved to Central Texas from Washington D.C. 18 years ago, shared her thoughts.
“The population growth is just crazy,” Beecham said as reported by CBS Austin. “We don’t want to be LA. You know, we don’t want to be New York or other places like that where it’s just gridlock – or even Houston.”
She’s an avid bike rider.
“The freedom. There’s just so much that you can see from a bike versus being cooped up in a car all the time,” Beecham said.
She’s really supportive of other ways to travel, especially trains.
“That will be great for the environment,” Beecham said. “It will get a greater number of people moving from point A to point B without being stuck on a highway congested in traffic.”
This was her takeaway after going to the TxDOT open house to talk about improving the connection between Austin and San Antonio.
“What the study really does is get input from the community, that way TxDOT knows exactly what it is that people want out here as we try to connect SH-45 down I-35 all the way to the NEX project in San Antonio.” Antonio Lujan with TxDOT said.
Lujan mentioned that since the area between Austin and San Antonio is expected to see its population double by 2050, they welcome any and all suggestions.
“These are the people that are living and the communities that we’re talking about,” Lujan said. “And as they continue to grow, and I think everybody’s pretty well aware here that this entire quarter it’s a very popular area of the state.”
He explained that they’re just starting out with what’s known as the Planning and Environmental Linkage study.
“It can be rail, it can be HOV lanes, it can be creating, just you know, connecting roads from one section to another,” Lujan said. “So the opportunities are endless…”
Harry Ingham from San Marcos appreciates that TxDOT is starting these talks, even if he thinks they’re a bit overdue.
“They should have done this 15-20 years ago,” Ingham said. “It is something at least to look forward to if there is a possibility we get a lot more done here.”
After this initial phase, Lujan said, they’ll move on to planning with the environment in mind, which will include more chances for people to give their thoughts.
The whole effort might take between 8 to 10 years.
“That’s the basic point, creating safe mobility and allowing people to get home in a fast and efficient way,” Lujan said.
For anyone who couldn’t make it to the meetings, there’s a virtual presentation available. TxDOT will be taking comments until Friday, March 8.
Leave a Reply