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City staff say mobility bond work largely on track; design and funding gaps remain for some major projects
Summary
Transportation and Public Works staff gave the Mobility Committee a status update on Austin's 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2020 mobility bonds, saying many program buckets are complete while larger corridor and bridge projects face design changes, contractor replacement and funding shortfalls ahead of planned construction.
City staff briefed the Mobility Committee on May 15 about the status of voter-approved mobility bonds from 2012 through 2020 and the early stages of planning for a 2026 bond.
Anna Martin, Assistant Director of Transportation and Public Works, and Eric Bailey, Assistant Director of Capital Delivery Services, presented project highlights and the program-level financial picture. Martin said the 2016 mobility bond — the city's largest at $720 million — and subsequent 2018 and 2020 bonds financed thousands of smaller projects (sidewalks, bikeways, safe routes to school) and larger corridor and bridge work.
Bailey described specific challenges on major projects. The 50th Street Complete Streets project (Airport Boulevard/50th Street, Mueller area) required a reworked stormwater design after adoption of the Atlas 14 rainfall model; the original designer was terminated for poor performance and a new design firm is completing final design with construction slated to start in 2026. The Red Bud Bridge replacement is at 100% design but the engineers' estimate exceeds the $50 million budgeted in the 2018 bond; the team is pursuing value engineering to reduce costs.
On the 2020 bond, staff said the six-year delivery commitment began with the first project's construction start in March 2022; staff now expect the majority of work to be complete by 2027. Large capital projects in that program show $40 million obligated and $62 million available in the large-capital bucket; named projects include the Pleasant Valley roadway extension, a first phase for the Congress Avenue Urban Design Initiative and Barton Springs Road bridge, which used $8 million in local match to secure a $32 million construction grant.
Staff said program buckets such as Vision Zero, bikeways, sidewalks and urban trails have delivered significant results: roughly 81 miles of new sidewalk, Vision Zero improvements at more than 20 intersections with a reported 22% reduction in fatal and serious crashes, and more than 500 pedestrian crossing improvements. Overall, staff reported about 58% of bond dollars are obligated or spent and about 42% remain planned or available for projects in design and construction.
Committee members asked about cost escalation, phasing strategies and closing funding gaps for projects now at varying design stages. Bailey said teams are identifying grants, developer participation, street-impact-fee funding and other options to close shortfalls; for one project he said, "I'll probably very soon be able to tell you what the funding gap is and then we're gonna be very creative looking at solutions." Council members emphasized a preference not to deauthorize voter-approved bond funding and urged prioritizing completion of already-approved projects when considering the 2026 bond.
Staff also outlined the 2026 bond development timeline: departments are developing technical criteria and scoring matrices this spring and early summer, boards and commissions will review criteria through June, community outreach will continue through summer and fall of 2025, and a staff recommendation to council (including BTIF input) is expected in spring 2026 with council calling a bond election in summer 2026 if approved.
