Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mopac South topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Urban and Transportation Commission asks CTRMA to pause Mopac South and, if continued, to complete a full EIS
Summary
The commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority pause the Mopac South project until I‑35 Capital Express Central, Austin Light Rail Phase 1 and South Lamar work are complete; if CTRMA moves forward, the commission asked for a full Environmental Impact Statement instead of an environmental assessment.
The Urban and Transportation Commission approved a recommendation asking the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) to pause the Mopac South project and to perform a full environmental review if the project proceeds.
Chair Susan Summers introduced a draft comment that noted city policies including the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan and the Austin Climate Equity Plan, and set out concerns that the CTRMA's recommended build alternative (Alternative 2C) would add two toll express lanes and widen the MoPac bridge over Lady Bird Lake to five general-purpose lanes in each direction. Summers said the build alternative appeared inconsistent with goals to reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions and to minimize impervious cover and tree canopy loss.
Commissioners discussed the project at length and agreed to add a substitute amendment moved by Commissioner Balbo and seconded by Commissioner Chen that explicitly cites three parallel projects: I‑35 Capital Express Central, Austin Light Rail Phase 1 (Project Connect) and the South Lamar bond program. The substitute amendment recommended that CTRMA pause Mopac South until those projects are complete so the agencies can reassess travel demand and community impacts, and it added that if CTRMA proceeds without a pause, the commission recommends completion of a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) rather than reliance on an environmental assessment.
Commissioners also discussed the value of filing this recommendation proactively and returning with additional, technical comment during the environmental assessment comment period if gaps appear in CTRMA's analysis (for example, impacts from concurrent construction on I‑35 and other corridors). The motion, as amended, was approved unanimously by those present; no individual vote tallies were recorded in the transcript.
The commission directed staff to finalize the amended language and to share the recommendation with the City Council Mobility Committee. Commissioners said they may revisit the matter when CTRMA's environmental assessment is published and a public comment window is open.
