At the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s most recent Economic Development Council meeting, Mike Trimble, Director of the City of Austin’s Corridor Program Office, delivered an update on the progress of the implementation of the $720 million mobility bond approved by voters in 2016. The process appears to be on track.

The next milestone in implementation is slated for this fall as the Corridor Program Office anticipates briefing the City Council in September/October on the prioritization model that is being used for $400M plus in corridor investments. Once complete, the CCP will determine the order and the extent of corridor upgrades for North Lamar Boulevard, Burnet Road, Airport Boulevard, MLK Boulevard, South Lamar, East Riverside Drive, Guadalupe Street, and Slaughter Lane/William Cannon Drive. We are looking deeper into how quickly Council can approve these technical recommendations so work can get started.

As a part of the City’s “Compact with the Voters” in February or March 2018 Austin City Council is scheduled to vote on approval of the CCP, following which construction will immediately begin in order to achieve completion of the project within the eight year timeline included in the bond. According to Trimble, the City of Austin is treating its "Compact with the Voters" as its driving force, sticking to it word for word. Because of this, the projects will be prioritized based on their ability to:

1. Reduce congestion,
2. Improve level of service and reduce delays at intersections for all modes of transportation, and
3. Connect and improve effectiveness of transit operations within these corridors and throughout the entire system.

Sidewalk construction is underway, with the next round of projected completed in the coming weeks. Major partnerships with TXDOT have been announced to complete work on 360 by allowing commuters to go under or above existing stoplights, potentially within 4 years.

The bottom line is that while this investment in our infrastructure will help, the region is still billions of dollars of investment behind when it comes to its main arteries of transportation. The City of Austin is committed to finishing the proposed improvements within 8 years as promised while revamping its planning process for future mobility/transportation bonds. The Austin Chamber of Commerce and the members of its Mobility Council will continue to monitor fulfillment of the bond projects, and work towards improving our regions roads and modes of transportation in order to keep Central Texas the nation’s top destination for employers, talent, and tourists.