Unveiled: Project Connect’s First Phase Alignment
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Rendering of a new light rail bridge crossing Lady Bird Lake. (Austin Transit Partnership)
The Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) on May 23 recommended a 9.8-mile, 15-station light rail alignment as the first phase of Project Connect, based on the expertise of partners ATP, the city of Austin, Tex., and CapMetro as well as community input.
The recommendation of the 38th Street to Oltorf to Yellow Jacket alignment (below) was one of five scaled-back options considered during six weeks of community engagement, which wrapped up May 2, according to ATP, the independent entity formed by the city of Austin and CapMetro to handle financing, design and construction of Project Connect, a more than $7 billion new light rail and expanded bus system project that Austin voted in November 2020 to implement.
The recommendation, released in ATP’s Austin Light Rail Implementation Plan, “still awaits approval by the city of Austin and CapMetro leadership at a June 6 meeting with ATP,” according to KXAN, an NBC affiliate in Austin.
During the public engagement period, ATP said it interacted with more than 8,000 community members through 90 in-person and virtual events, and their feedback showed support “for the advancement of a light rail project that prioritizes ridership, connectivity, and access to opportunities and also maximizes coverage and seamless integration into other transportation systems” (download engagement report below).
The 38th Street to Oltorf to Yellow Jacket alignment—an on-street, two-line light rail project that will cross Lady Bird Lake at Trinity Street (see map below)—is estimated to cost between $4.5 billion and $4.8 billion, and “lays the best foundation for future expansions and extensions,” ATP Executive Director Greg Canally said.
Additionally, it is the “most balanced option between North, East and South Austin, and will give the opportunity to connect historically underserved communities to the East, high ridership stations to the South, and also connect highest ridership stations North of the river including the UT and Downtown Austin areas,” according to ATP.
This option will link with existing Red Line and future Green Line commuter rail at the Downtown Station; with current and future MetroRapid bus service, including Pleasant Valley and downtown; and with key high ridership and high frequency bus routes.
The project is slated for evaluation by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for funding under its Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program, according to ATP, which will seek approximately 50% of project capital costs. “Upon adoption of the Austin Light Rail Implementation Plan, ATP will progress through a multi-year process of continuing project development, environmental review and coordination with FTA on federal grant funding,” ATP reported.
According to ATP, a top theme from across the community was access to the airport; as such, the Yellow Jacket to the Airport alignment was identified as the priority extension, along with 38th Street to Crestview alignment. “These extensions could be accelerated if funding becomes available,” ATP said.
According to KXAN, ATP’s first-phase “recommendation comes nearly 11 months after ATP leaders pressed pause on light rail designs, citing shifting scope changes, increasingly expensive real estate costs and construction fees skyrocketing.
“Most recently, the project has been subject to state-level weigh-in, including an opinion released by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Project Connect’s funding [—that the financing model may be illegal under state law—], as well as two Project Connect funding-related bills making their way through the Texas Legislature.”
On May 22, House Bill 3899, named the No Blank Checks Act, “passed the Senate 29-1, which requires Austin to get voter approval before issuing debt to build the light rail,” the Austin-American Statesman reported.
According to the newspaper, Greg Canally “said the group [ATP] was committed to fulfilling the will of the voters to implement the light rail, and believed that as a local government corporation, it has the authority to issue bonds and notes and cities have the authority to transfer funds to it.
“‘ATP has always recognized there are many steps ahead in our financing process, and we will follow state law and take this opinion into consideration as we advance our financing,’ he said.”
“For more than twenty years, Austin has tried to build a light rail system that brings our community closer together and today, we know what will be built for this community, and by this community, in this first phase of Austin Light Rail Implementation,” Mayor Kirk Watson said during the May 23 alignment announcement. “When we come together to solve big problems, we can do big things, and having a light rail system that is equitable, reliable and affordable that is built by the people of Austin, is the definition of a big thing. I look forward to advancing this recommendation and seeing the people of Austin get to work on a transformational project.”
