SH 45 Gap Project Moves Ahead Despite Dubious Regional Cooperation

The controversial highway project that would close the gap in State Highway 45 between I-35 and Loop 1 (South MoPac) is progressing with some community engagement, albeit only in Hays County – and Travis County commissioners are mad about it. The project, which has been in the works since the 1980s, would effectively create a western loop, which proponents – mostly Hays County Commissioner Walt Smith – say "would provide access to economic opportunities developing in the western section of the county" and provide an alternative to congested I-35. "As the area continues to develop," Smith urges, "future development of a transportation corridor becomes much more challenging and the opportunity could be lost entirely."

There are a number of concerns Travis County commissioners have about bridging the gap, including environmental impact and concerns that it would make traffic worse. The number one problem with the project, though, in both Hays and Travis commissioners' minds, is the process. Back in the fall, when Hays commissioners voted for a $2.5 million design contract with CP&Y Inc., Smith and Commissioner Mark Jones (then running against County Judge Ruben Becerra) said that the Travis commissioners they had spoken with had a "very positive" view of the project. (It also came to light last year that CP&Y Inc. PAC donated to both Smith's and Jones' campaigns.) Travis County commissioners responded by sending a letter saying that was not an accurate portrayal of their views, and requesting that Hays County "halt action on this study until ... collaboration and coordination is undertaken."

Commissioners did vote to halt the project, and held their first open house on June 15 in Hays County to solicit public feedback on the project's feasibility study. Becerra, the only no-vote on the design, is now also on board with building a connection, though he told the Chronicle that "trying to force such an important connection through without getting input from all stakeholders is not only shortsighted, but makes for bad regional partnerships." The city of Buda is now involved, having entered into an interlocal agreement with Hays County to pitch in $500,000 for the feasibility study. As of press time, Austin Trans­porta­tion Department had not replied to request for comment. The public can comment on the study with their preferred routes for the 4-mile connector until June 30, and there's another open house tentatively planned for later this summer. Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea says that's too little, too late: "If Travis County did something like this, and we never talked to Buda and Kyle about it, and we only had hearings in Travis County – does anybody think that is a good way to do regional transportation planning or frankly, to be a good neighbor?"

The study includes several interactive maps of active development in the area and is actively soliciting feedback from developers and property owners, as future development encompasses nearly 27% of the study area, and several property owners have already noted that the roadway could potentially cross over the Union Pacific rail line. The study also notes that there will be traffic and environmental impact analyses conducted before the project can move forward – right now the project is in its pre-National Environmental Policy Act planning-level study. It estimates a timeline of one to two years for the feasibility study (which we are in right now), two to three more years for the environmental impact study, and three years for the final design before construction can begin – with "stakeholder communication throughout the process," of course.

Environmental advocates including the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance and Shea fear that the Edwards Aquifer could be compromised by the increased traffic the connector could bring over its transition zone. Though proponents point to the SH 45 spur that has already been built over the recharge zone (a more sensitive area of the aquifer), GEAA contends that "missing from that argument is the massive increase in traffic that would occur with completion of the SH45 Gap, not only across the ... transition zone, but also across the existing SH45 west spur which crosses the recharge zone."

Shea fears the project will "turn south MoPac into a bypass for I-35, particularly when construction starts on I-35" for the expansion. She also questions if I-35 traffic would even be lessened by the connector: "For anyone who remembers, that was a big sales pitch for 130. And it didn't work very well, because it swings pretty far to the east and the tolls on it are super expensive." A 2015 Texas A&M Transportation Institute study found that many more than 220,000 trucks travel I-35 daily, while only 40,000 choose SH 130. Instead of "risking the drinking water for south Travis County and north Hays County residents and creating a traffic nightmare on Mopac," GEAA says, the Central Texas toll authority should incentivize all traffic to use SH 130.

The next open house is tentatively planned for late this summer, where concepts for route options will be presented. You can leave comments on the proposed connector at sh45gap.com/open-house.