Project Will Add Bicycle, Pedestrian Access to Southwest Austin
A rendering shows what the Mopac Mobility Improvement Project might look like when completed. Rendering courtesy City of Austin.Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
There’s a new bridge being planned for Southwest Austin aimed at improving bicycle and pedestrian access to downtown. The bridge is part of what’s called the MoPac Mobility Improvement Project and it would run along MoPac across Loop 360. KUT’s Matt Largey sat down with Annick Beaudet of Austin’s Public Works Department to learn more about the project.
It’s an improvement to MoPac for all modes, not only for motor vehicles but for bicycles and pedestrians as well. So we’re really trying to improve our quality of life but also give Austinites choices on how they get around and this bridge is going to remove a huge barrier connecting downtown Austin to southwest Austin.
In addition to adding bicycle and pedestrian paths, the project should improve traffic flow on MoPac, Beaudet said.
The project also includes restriping the southbound shoulder on the MoPac main lanes to create an exit-only lane, or what’s called an auxiliary lane, to Southwest Parkway, which will relieve congestion during the peak hours for motorists going southbound. I know that’s going to be music to a lot of people’s ears, as is the bicycle and pedestrian connection.
There will be a public meeting Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at Johnson Creek Trailhead, located on Veterans Drive, southwest of the Austin High Tennis Courts. City staff and consultants working on the project will be available to answer questions. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2015. For more information, visit the city’s website.
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