In a series of community meetings over the last month, focusing on the various segments of their planned light rail lines, Capital Metro has essentially laid out in parts the newest draft of its plan – the bones of what will become the 30% design and phasing plan, meaning the planning process will be 30% complete. It has some significant changes from the previous draft – the 15% plan – and if you haven’t really been paying attention since the initial design was passed by voters back in the mists of pandemic time, well then, this primer is for you. Meanwhile, there are still a few key areas being discussed and updated over the next month; see that schedule further down.
The basic design hasn’t changed much – the north-south Orange Line goes up Lavaca, Guadalupe, and Lamar and down South Congress, and the east-west Blue Line goes from Downtown out Riverside to the airport – but here’s some of what’s been discussed just in the last month or so, much of which is new.
The most recent session, just this past Tuesday evening (“What Kind of Rail Bridge …” Daily News, April 26) covered the new Blue Line Bridge over Lady Bird Lake. It’ll run from Trinity Street south of the Convention Center (and next to “The Confluence” at the mouth of Waller Creek; read more) across the river to about the eastern tip of the former Statesman property and Thom’s Market on Riverside. It’s a bike and pedestrian crossing as well, but the big question is whether it will also hold buses; that would bump the price from $150 million to $210 million.
The South Congress meeting was held not long before that; the big news there is that the Downtown tunnel will now extend under the river and all the way to S. Congress near Oltorf, almost tripling the length of the subway system, and adding over $1 billion to the estimated cost. This is largely due to the Capitol View Corridor on South Congress, and something else you may not have known: The train lines will have overhead electrical wires, which still don’t appear in most of Project Connect’s renderings.
Other meetings just in the past month covered North Guadalupe/Lamar, Crestview Station, and East Riverside and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, including new stations at Montopolis and Metro Center, but the most consequential was an April 7 report to the city, Cap Metro, and Austin Transit Partnership providing updates on funding and sequencing, plus a report on “Light Rail Project Cost Drivers and Estimates.” The bottom line on costs: “The three specific cost drivers that are impacting changes in the cost estimates are real estate, inflation/supply chain and scope refinement/change.” Taking those in order:
• The cost estimate for acquiring the real estate needed for the two rail lines went from $250 million to $940 million.
• Inflation is now estimated at 5% instead of 3.5%, adding another $380 million to the budget.
• Design changes are the big cost driver, though – the tunnel under Lady Bird Lake adds $2.1 billion to the estimate, but also $260 million for utility work, $350 million for additional bike and pedestrian facilities, and $450 million(!) for structural design, drainage, and easement adjustments that were required, in addition to punching Dean Keeton Street through to San Antonio, at the northern end of the Drag.
• Add it all up, and the budget for the rail line has gone up by 78% – from $5.8 billion to $10.3 billion. (Adding buses onto the Blue Line Bridge would add another $60 million, but that’s scarcely a rounding error at this point.) The memo hastens to add that this will all be covered by money in hand: a large contingency built into the original plan, plus tweaks to the phasing strategy as necessary, and perhaps a little more federal funding from the recently passed infrastructure bill. So no additional tax money will be needed.
Of course, we’re just at 30%.
Here’s a look at the remainder of the public meeting schedule during this round; staff will present final 30% cost estimates later this summer:
• North Lamar Transit Center/North Line: Monday, May 2, 5:30pm
• Combined Maintenance Facility Update: Tue., May 10
• East Riverside/Pleasant Valley: Wed., May 18
• Drag Working Group (Traffic Impacts): Tue., May 24
• South Shore Working Group: Thu., May 26
• Auditorium Shores to Government Ctr.: Tue., June 14
These are Zoom meetings; get info and register at projectconnect.com/get-involved.
The Historic Landmark Commission has its first meeting back in City Hall on its new schedule of first Wednesdays (see “Public Notice: A Potpourri, Plus the World Cup,” News, April 8), and will be hearing its usual load of requests for demolitions and historic designations, but here are a couple of interesting ones: Oilcan Harry’s is under the wrecking ball (201-213 W. Fourth), but never fear – maybe – the proprietors are actually said to be supporting the redevelopment plan, because it will include a nice new space for them. Meanwhile, a couple of blocks north, the HLC will consider historic designation for the Iron Bear (or at least the property it’s housed in).
The Librotraficante Caravan of Banned Books will be in Austin this Friday, April 29, in conjunction with LULAC Texas, asking Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick if he believes Mexican American history is CRT, and why he killed a vote on a bill to allow Mexican American history and African American history to count toward high school graduation requirements. See librotraficante.com for more.
The annual lifeguard shortage is worse than ever in the current hiring market, so City Parks is now offering signing bonuses of up to $1,250 for lifeguards, and $750 for summer camp staff. They’ve also broadened their pitch beyond the traditional teens on summer break to also target teachers and “retirees looking for a fun way to earn extra money.” They need hundreds of people; see austintexas.gov/summerjobs for details.
Preservation Austin‘s annual Homes Tour is back this Saturday, April 30, 10am-5pm, except it’s “Out of the House” – featuring a selection of iconic historic spaces around the city, including the newly restored Travis County Probate Courthouse (formerly the federal courthouse); Wesley United Methodist Church; and the rehabilitated Baker School, now home to Alamo Drafthouse HQ. Event-day tickets will only be available at the Baker School, and guests must show proof of vaccination there to participate in the tour. See preservationaustin.org for info and advance tickets.
During Austin Small Business Week, next Mon.-Fri., May 2-6, the city offers two dozen free training events for local small businesses, creatives, nonprofits, and co-ops, plus daily one-on-one business coaching opportunities. They’re online, but space is limited; see the schedule and register at austintexas.gov/department/small-business-division.
This article appears in April 29 • 2022.