Photo courtesy Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority.The northbound non-tolled lanes between 51st Street and Manor/Springdale Road on the US 183 South toll road in East Austin are now finished and open to traffic, Community Impact Newspaper reports. The southbound non-tolled lanes in that section are expected to open in May.
The $743 million toll project, which began in May 2016, includes adding six tolled lanes on US 183 between Hwy. 290 and Hwy. 71 near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The project is 50 percent complete and on track to open in 2020.
“At some point in the next six to nine months, all the general purpose lanes will be open between Springdale and the Techni Center [Drive],” said Steve Pustelnyk, director of community relations for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, which is overseeing the project, according to the news agency. “That will allow us to finish the express lanes in the middle so they can [start opening] in 2019.”
Work to expand the southbound bridge to accommodate the express lanes over the Colorado River is ongoing. Once complete, all traffic will temporarily divert to the new bridge to allow rebuilding of the northbound bridge. The old steel-truss Montopolis Bridge built in the 1930s will eventually be closed off to vehicular traffic and rehabbed to be part of a 7-mile shared-use path running along the corridor. The project also includes 9 miles of new sidewalks and 16 miles of new bike facilities along the non-tolled lanes, which will connect to shared-use paths on the 290 Toll, SH 71 Toll projects, and the Lance Armstrong Bikeway.
“We appreciate the patience of the traveling public and the project’s neighbors as we work to improve mobility, economic opportunity, and quality of life in this important and vibrant corridor,” Mobility Authority Executive Director Mike Heiligenstein said in a news release, according to the newspaper. “I predict 183 South will become the next golden corridor for east Austin in terms of employment opportunities and housing for all our citizens.”
The KXAN YouTube video below shows vehicular traffic on the now open non-tolled northbound lanes of US 183 South.
