State Highway 45 SW back up for debate

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The region's transportation planning board has booked a large auditorium on the University of Texas campus on Monday night, expecting plenty of heat on amendments to its long-term road plans.

The last time CAMPO rented the Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium was in 2004, at the height of the toll road debate. On Monday night, CAMPO expects to hear heated words over State Highway 45 SW. Environmentalists and the City of Austin want the proposed project out of the CAMPO 2035 plan. Those who are facing crushing traffic woes, caught between Travis and Hays counties, would prefer to see the project go forward.

The State Highway 45 SW project would connect a portion of an eventual loop around the region. The segment that Austin wants to take off the maps is south of Brodie Lane, connecting Loop 1 to FM 1626 with a four-lane toll road in two sections at a cost of $107 million. The price tag also covers the preliminary engineering on a third section that would connect FM 1626 to Interstate 35, where it would meet South Highway 45 SE.

Environmentalists have been up in arms about the project for almost a decade because the road would cross the ecologically sensitive Barton Springs Recharge Zone. Supporters say the project, which would be completed around 2025, could be constructed in an ecologically sensitive way while also relieving significant traffic pressures on Brodie Lane, which has no water quality measures.

Monday night's hearing is the first of a number of hearings to discuss SH 45 SW, as well as improvements to Maha Loop and FM 1460. Additional amendments are being considered in a the three-year plan. A final vote will not be taken until the CAMPO meeting on Oct. 8.

Monday night's hearing at the Lady Bird Auditorium, 2405 Robert Dedmon Dr., at 6 p.m.