Project Profile: SH 45SW

photo credit: Community Impact Newsletter

Location	Austin, Texas
Project Sponsor / Borrower	Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
Program Areas
Mode	Toll Highway
Description	SH 45SW is a four-lane toll road under development by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority between the southern end of MoPac Expressway (Loop 1) and FM 1626 southwest of Austin, Texas near the border of Travis and Hays Counties. The four-mile limited-access route will have four access and egress points. The project is expected to relieve growing congestion on local roads (Manchaca Road, Slaughter Lane, Brodie Lane) used by commuters to access MoPac Expressway and downtown Austin. An environmental study conducted by the Texas Department of Transportation in 2013 identified the SH 45SW corridor along state-owned right-of-way as the preferred solution to this problem. Early planning for a larger circumferential roadway that would have contained SH 45SW as one part began in the mid-1980s. A lawsuit filed after the release of the environmental review for the project resulted in a court decision specifying that only state funds could be used to build the facility. Accordingly, project financing is expected to include state funds and a loan from the Texas Mobility Fund and contributions from Travis and Hays Counties. No federal funding will be used. Drivers who use SH 45SW to access Austin's downtown core are expected to save 9 to 17 minutes over current travel times. Those who continue to use local roads for those same trips are expected to save 6 to 7 minutes. The project is expected to open in 2019.
Cost	$100 million (estimated)
Funding Sources	Total available for financing - $108.9 million TxDOT Toll Equity Grant - $28.9 million TxDOT Toll Equity Loan - $60.0 million (maximum) Travis County - $15.0 million (not to exceed) Hays County - $5.0 million (not to exceed)
Project Delivery / Contract Method	Design-bid-build
Private Partner	None
Project Advisors / Consultants	Rodriguez Transportation Group - Lead Designer
Lenders	TxDOT
Duration / Status	Final design has required an environmental reevaluation. Construction may start in late 2016 and is expected to take 2.5 years.
Financial Status	Financing will occur through the Texas Mobility Fund.
Innovations	The project includes a ten-foot-wide, ADA-compliant shared use path that will serve as part of the future Violet Crown Trail, a planned 30-mile recreational trail from downtown Austin into Hays County. The project features extensive water quality protection measures, Context Sensitive Solutions such as existing vegetation preservation, native plantings, and wildlife habitat enhancements, and other measures to protect the karst landscape features in the area. The project incorporates design features identified through a Green Mobility Challenge, such as pollutant-filtering roadway surface material and vegetative filter strips that utilize plants to filter stormwater runoff.
Related Links / Articles	Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Texas Mobility Fund
Contacts	Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Tel: (512) 996-9778