Stimulus transit plans OK'd

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.statesman.com/news/conten...0609campo.html

Stimulus transit plans OK'd

By Ben Wear
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Central Texas officials approved an additional $29 million in transportation projects Monday under the federal stimulus plan, including adding a center turn lane on a dangerous segment of Texas 71 west of Austin, building an overpass on Interstate 35 in Buda, and a variety of other minor road maintenance and improvement work.

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization board's approval will add the projects to $107 million in stimulus money for the area that the Texas Transportation Commission awarded three months ago, the bulk of it for the planned U.S. 290 tollway in Northeast Austin.

Capital Metro will get an additional $26.1 million in stimulus grants from the Federal Transit Administration, money that the agency intends to spend primarily to buy buses and add track for passing trains to its commuter rail line. And Central Texas will probably get more money in the next several months as state transportation commissioners decide how to divvy an additional half-billion dollars in stimulus money.

[Scottolini]

TRANSPORTATION
Borrowing, stimulus boost TxDOT road plans

Agency expects a record $5.9 billion in construction and maintenance spending in coming fiscal year.

By Ben Wear
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The rags-to-riches-to-rags trajectory of state highway spending is about to zag upward again, officials said Wednesday, thanks to a cobbling together of federal stimulus funds, massive new borrowing and some help from the Legislature this spring


TxDOT has reaffirmed its commitment to spend about $200 million to complete the Interstate 35/Ben White Boulevard interchange by adding four flyover bridges and also to widen Texas 195 from north of Georgetown to the Bell County line. A contract for the I-35 project should be awarded in October, said Carlos Lopez, TxDOT's Austin district engineer, and the Texas 195 work is expected to occur in 2010 and 2011.


The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is expecting to receive $90 million in stimulus funds and expects an additional $31 million today when the Texas Transportation Commission acts on a state infrastructure bank loan, The authority would use the money to begin the U.S. 290 East tollway project in the coming months.


The area also has been promised another $95 million in stimulus funds for various road and rail projects.


The commission, taking advantage of what have been lower-than-expected contract bids, probably will approve seven more maintenance projects at its meeting today. The additional $6 million in stimulus-funded projects will be used to resurface highways from Llano to Austin to Caldwell County.

http://www.statesman.com/news/conten...0730txdot.html