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Originally Posted by BevoLJ
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I was one of the first on here to suggest that a subway tunnel was quite feasible in Austin. I even cited this project as evidence. However, it would be a mistake to equate the cost of this tunnel with a subway tunnel. Putting people down underground is a lot different proposition than pouring some water in a hole.
A subway tunnel needs permanent ventilation, fire suppression, and access and emergency egress that also meets ADA (elevators, stairs, escalators, etc). The stations also have to be finished out closer to the standard of a building than a sewer pipe.
Those additions would at least double the cost per foot, and that would also only give you a tunnel in one direction. Double-tracked rail needs two parallel tunnels of about the same diameter as this tunnel.
The cost of a tunnel between I-35 and Lamar would be at least 4 times the cost of this tunnel, or about the same amount of money budgeted for the entire first phase of urban rail. And you would still need to add the tracks and other appurtenances of urban rail.
I'm not saying it is not a worthy goal to build parts of our future transit system in a subway tunnel, but when we are struggling to figure out how to build a mere 6 miles or so of urban rail, even a relatively short tunnel would be foolish at this time.