Commission backs design interlocal agreement with Austin Transit Partnership for light-rail utility betterments
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Summary
After a staff briefing on Project Connect’s Austin Light Rail, the Water and Wastewater Commission approved a design-phase interlocal agreement with Austin Transit Partnership that commits the city to pay actual design costs for requested utility betterments; Austin Water estimates about $36 million in design-level betterment costs covering roughly 123,000 linear feet of pipe.
The Water and Wastewater Commission voted to authorize the city to negotiate and execute a design‑phase interlocal agreement (ILA) with the Austin Transit Partnership that defines roles, permitting coordination and the city’s funding commitments for utility “betterments” tied to the Austin Light Rail project.
The design ILA, which commissioners approved after an ATP presentation and Q&A, commits Austin Water to pay actual design costs for betterments the city requested. Austin Water staff said the current, order‑of‑magnitude estimate for Austin Water betterments is about $36,000,000; that estimate covers roughly 123,000 linear feet of pipe in total — about 62,000 linear feet of waterline, about 3,300 linear feet of wastewater main and about 57,500 linear feet of reclaimed water main, according to Charles Solaro, Assistant Director of Engineering Technical Services for Austin Water.
"For the water, for about $23,000,000 it consists of over 62,000 linear feet of waterline," Solaro said, adding the reclaimed and wastewater quantities that make up the total linear footage.
Sean Berry of the Austin Transit Partnership outlined the project schedule and recent federal milestones: the program has completed NEPA (final environmental impact statement and record of decision issued January 2026) and received a medium‑high rating from the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant process. Berry said the project is in preconstruction and progressive design‑build contracting and aims to begin heavy construction in 2027 with revenue service targeted for 2033.
ATP and Austin Water described how betterments will be evaluated and paid. "This design ILA commits the city to the funding for the design phase, and we would come back for a future authorization for the construction funding of these betterments," Lianne Conte, interim mobility officer for Austin Project Connect, told commissioners. ATP staff and Austin Water said Austin Water will only be invoiced for actual design fees and that construction funding would be requested in later authorizations once scopes and prices are refined.
Commissioners pressed staff on cost‑estimation methods, contingency and schedule risk in the current economic climate; ATP and city staff said conservative contingencies were applied to the rough estimates and that the progressive design‑build model and co‑location of staff with ATP and contractor teams will reduce uncertainty as design advances. Kevin Koller, Division Manager for Pipeline CIP Delivery, said the agencies have coordinated with system planning to avoid future re‑excavation and to prioritize long‑term system improvements.
The commission voted to approve the design ILA; Commissioner Penn recused himself from the vote as a member of the delivery partner team. The ILA approval covers design‑phase commitments only — construction commitments and final costs will return to the commission and City Council for separate authorization.
Next steps: ATP will refine design scopes and fees with the contracted delivery teams, Austin Water will review and be invoiced for actual design costs, and construction‑phase funding requests for approved betterments will be brought back for later commission and council action.
