Austin light-rail tunnel might be a mile longer
July 26th, 2021
July 26, 2021 - KUT.org -
Austin's multibillion-dollar transit expansion will require extending an underground light-rail tunnel from Auditorium Shores to as far south as Lively Middle School on South Congress Avenue.
The change could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but transit planners vow to work it into the budget Austin voters authorized in November when they agreed to a tax increase of 8.75 cents per $100 of property value.
"Construction certainly will be more expensive to do that," Capital Metro CEO Randy Clarke said of the extended tunnel plans during a board meeting of the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP). The independent local government corporation was created to implement the transit buildout dubbed Project Connect.
Technical challenges posed by underground utilities, flood plains and traffic are forcing the adjustment, according to ATP officials.
Read more: https://www.kut.org/transportation/2021-07-22/project-connect-underground-light-rail-tunnel-downtown-austin
Austin's multibillion-dollar transit expansion will require extending an underground light-rail tunnel from Auditorium Shores to as far south as Lively Middle School on South Congress Avenue.
The change could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but transit planners vow to work it into the budget Austin voters authorized in November when they agreed to a tax increase of 8.75 cents per $100 of property value.
"Construction certainly will be more expensive to do that," Capital Metro CEO Randy Clarke said of the extended tunnel plans during a board meeting of the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP). The independent local government corporation was created to implement the transit buildout dubbed Project Connect.
Technical challenges posed by underground utilities, flood plains and traffic are forcing the adjustment, according to ATP officials.
Read more: https://www.kut.org/transportation/2021-07-22/project-connect-underground-light-rail-tunnel-downtown-austin