CAMPO OKs $42B transportation plan
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) transportation policy board approved the 2045 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) on May 4 with a fiscal capacity of $42 billion for 539 projects.
Board members approved the $4.9 billion I-35 Capital Express Project by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The project will improve Interstate 35 with non-tolled managed lanes, reconstruct ramps, and improve frontage roads from U.S. 290 East to U.S. 290 West/State Highway 71.
Additional I-35 projects estimated to cost $400 million and $300 million will add more lanes to the interstate from State Highway 45 North to U.S. Highway 290 East and US. 290W/SH 71 to SH 45E, respectively. Those projects will be let in 2022.
The board also approved U.S. 183 toll lane projects totaling $260 million that will add managed lanes to U.S. 183 North from RM 620/SH 45 to the Travis County line and two express lanes in each direction from the Williamson County line to MoPac Expressway. Those projects are scheduled to be let in 2021.
MoPac, or Loop 1, also was approved for a $200 million project to add a one-lane director with transitions and one collector distributor from U.S. 183 to RM 2222. The procurement for that project is scheduled to begin in 2021.
The construction of a new $225.75 million four-lane limited access roadway from University Boulevard to SH 45 in Williamson County will be let in 2024.
Reconstruction of the I-35 mainlane bridge at SH 123 and northbound bridges at San Marcos River and Willow Springs Creek is planned for $121.07 million. This project, which will be let in 2021, also will add auxiliary lanes and make SH 123 intersection and pedestrian improvements.
Several projects in the 2045 plan are scheduled for action further in the future.
Plans to construct a $367.8 million six-lane extension of U.S. 183A from Hero Way to SH 29 earned board approval. This project is scheduled to be let in 2031.
The widening of Whitestone Boulevard/RM 1431 to a six-lane divided highway from Parmer Lane to Ronald Reagan was approved for $226.52 million. It will be let in 2040.
Every five years, CAMPO is required to develop a long-range planning document that forecasts mobility, population, and employment at least 20 years into the future. The purposes of the long-range plan are to coordinate regional transportation planning activities, establish a broad framework for transportation planning in the six-county region, and prioritize a comprehensive program of projects and activities.