New renderings for MoPac South Project released
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Another step forward in the plan to expand South MoPac from downtown to Southwest Austin.
At an open house Tuesday night, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) laid out its initial findings of an environmental study and presented a possible build-out of the road.
It has been 11 years since CTRMA began discussing the Mopac South Project, but a roadblock, in the form of a 2016 environmental lawsuit, and its appeals, sidelined the project for years. Then the project suffered another delay—the pandemic.
Louisa Thollander is one Austin resident who showed up to look at the plans.
"I moved here in 2001 when we had a one-month-old child, and we've been here ever since," Thollander said.
Throughout her decades in South Austin, Thollander said she has watched traffic patterns change on MoPac.
"It's packed! It's so much busier now than it has ever been. I think, you know, for probably the first 10 years we lived here, it was fine. There'd be a little bit of traffic, like at traffic times like 5/6 p.m., but now I feel like, with all the building, like Buda and farther south, and the toll road that's down there now, there's traffic at 2 p.m. sometimes until 6:30 or 7 p.m.," said Thollander.
CTRMA released its latest environmental impact findings as well as another option for expansion.
A new animation shows at least one express toll lane from South Austin to downtown, an exit and entrance at Slaughter Lane, William Cannon Dr, another one near Loop 360, and again for downtown and Enfield Rd.
"I am hopeful for improvements. I mean, I appreciate that they're trying to take every factor into consideration, and that's important," said Thollander.
This is by no means even close to the final design, but it's an option that will evolve with more public input and planning.
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