Highway To Hardship
THE FACTS
After $200 million, three years of construction and 13 months of delays, part of the MoPac Express Tollway opens to a choir of complaints and cheers.
Traffic forms heading south on MoPac Loop 1 at 2 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2016. Although it is not a rush-hour peak time, the ongoing construction on the expressway plays a role in traffic congestion (or delays). Photo by Viviana Castañeda.
Drivers pass the closed toll lane sign displayed south on MoPac Loop 1 on Oct. 21, 2016. A portion of the MoPac Express Lane opened Oct. 17, 2016 although the southbound express lane is not expected to open until spring 2017. Photo by Viviana Castañeda.
A car passes a sign for Loop 1 as it enters the access road on Oct. 22, 2016. This is one of many areas where neighborhoods sit in close proximity to the project construction. Photo by Jenah Ovalles-Forey.
Traffic forms heading south on MoPac Loop 1 at 2 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2016. Although it is not a rush-hour peak time, the ongoing construction on the expressway plays a role in traffic congestion (or delays). Photo by Viviana Castañeda.
Since the 1970s, neighborhoods have been affected by the taking of private property to build the infamous MoPac Express Freeway.
​
An alliance of 16 neighborhoods was founded in 1983 north of the river to 183- long before the MoPac Improvement Project was contemplated. MoNAC- the MoPac Neighborhood Associations Coalition - was established to compel TxDOT and the City of Austin to install sound barriers to reduce noise for residents.
​
As the everlasting construction continues on MoPac, sound walls are plastered along the perimeter of
by Viviana Castañeda, Jenah Ovalles-Forey, Cinnamon Cornell and María Núñez
The echoes of drills and honks flood the Texas State Highway Loop 1, commonly known as MoPac, on a Monday morning.
There is a woman with one hand on the wheel and the other putting on mascara - an easy task during stop-and-go traffic - while an orange-vested construction worker maneuvers a bulldozer along the edge of the freeway.
Drivers and construction workers have grown accustomed to sharing a busy stretch of the Loop 1 freeway since the MoPac Improvement Project - which involved the construction of express lanes to alleviate traffic - began in 2013.
​
Three years later, the northbound express toll road is open and ready to charge drivers from 25 cents to an uncapped dollar amount per use, depending on current traffic.
MoPac and its Alliances
MoPac vs. Pop Culture
A history of the biggest developments of the MoPac Improvement Project vs. important global pop culture moments.
July 2010
At the urging of local and state leaders, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (Mobility Authority), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the City of Austin, and Capital Metro (CapMetro) launch an environmental study to look at options for improving mobility in MoPac.
July 2011
One of most popular franchises in history comes to an end when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 hit theaters.
August 2012
The environmental study is completed with a Finding of No Significant Impact. The study found that express lanes with variable pricing were the preferred alternative for addressing long term mobility issues in MoPac.
Prince William and Kate Middleton, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, announce that they are expecting their first child.
December 2012
JUly 2013
Following a 12-month selection process, the Mobility Authority selected CH2M HILL as the best value proposer to design and build the MoPac Improvement Project. Over the summer, CH2M HILL surveys the MoPac corridor and conducts other investigative work in preparation for construction.
april 2013
Netflix releases the first season of "Orange Is The New Black"
Construction on the MoPac Toll Project begins.
january 2014
Rapper Kanye West marries reality T.V. and social media star Kim Kardashian in Italy.
may 2014
Original completion date for the MoPac Improvement Project.
september 2015
Pope Francis visits the United States for the first time.
september 2015
Work on the project stops for 28 days after a small cave, which might inhabit endangered species, is found in the MoPac Improvement Project construction zone.
OCTOber 2015
McDonald's starts serving all-day breakfast.
October 2015
The company overseeing the project, CH2M, says the lanes will open in summer 2016.
december 2015
Famed singer David Bowie dies in New York after fighting an 18-month battle with cancer.
January 2016
FEBRUARY 2016
The project deadline moves to November 29, 2016.
February 2016
After being nominated for an Academy Award 6 times, Leonardo DiCaprio finally wins one ("Best Actor") for his performance in The Revenant.
Heat, which causes problems with concrete, delays the opening of the MoPac Express Lane.
july 2016
American musician Bob Dylan wins the Nobel Prize in literature.
October 2016
The United States elects their 45th President.
november 2016
The northbound MoPac Express Lane opens between 2222 and Parmer.
october 2016
The other section of the Mopac Express Lanes from 2222 to the river is expected to be finished in the Spring of 2017.
Spring 2017
MoPac and its Impact on
Austin Commuters
Get Your MoPac Updates on Twitter:
The project was meant to reduce traffic as well as travel time concerns amongst drivers. However, Ridsdale says the factors affiliated with it - from the prolonged construction to inconvenience in lane design - have done the opposite.
“There would be random times, such as midnight, where I’d be driving on MoPac and there would be bumper-to-bumper traffic simply because construction would narrow the highway down to one lane,” Ridsdale said.
The design of the express lanes is something that drives Ridsdale, and possibly other potential toll payers, away from using the newly opened northbound lane.
He does not see the toll lane as an option in his post-work commute because the Parmer Lane exit would re-route his trip toward Route 183 by about five minutes.
“What’s the point of wasting time and money on the express lane when I could waste it, for free, on the regular lanes?” he asked.
Despite complaints and commotion, Fairfield and Ridsdale do agree the project is an efficient solution to improve mobility within the city, even though it does not benefit them directly.
“It’s nice to know that people who are in a rush or have an emergency now at least have the option to skip the inevitable MoPac traffic,” Fairfield says.
Ridsdale, a native Austinite, congratulates the project on overcoming Austin’s constant denial of population growth and a need for improvement in freeway systems.
“We tried to ignore the fact that Austin was growing, until it was too late and now it’s causing all these issues,” he said. “The project might not completely fix MoPac, but it’s worth doing something, and I really don’t know what they could’ve done that would’ve been better.”
Completion of the MoPac Improvement Project is expected in spring 2017. Until then, commuters and construction workers will continue to share the road.
For some commuters and frequent MoPac travelers, such as Mitchell Ridsdale, the sound of that is not appealing.
“I probably won’t use the toll lane because even though it’s frustrating, at least it’s free to use MoPac,” Ridsdale said. With frustration, he says the express lane is meant to alleviate traffic, but if not enough people are willing to pay for it, it won’t fix the traffic problem.
“It creates a sort of class-based road system,” Ridsdale adds.
​
For Melyssa Fairfield, her money is more valuable than her time. To avoid a steep parking fee every day, Fairfield rides the bus from her Northwest Hills apartment to a stop near her work in the downtown area.
Fairfield’s bus route travels through MoPac and although she is not behind the wheel, she often considers the flow of traffic on the half-done freeway.
“Sometimes even taking a bus that comes 10 minutes after I usually do can make me 20 or 30 minutes late to work because of rush hour on MoPac,” Fairfield said.
the highway. But back in 1997, TxDOT refused to build the sound walls and would not apply for funding from the state.
​
MoNac President August Harris said funding for the sound walls became more problematic over the years while MoPac and the issues of mobility through the corridor became progressively worse. Over 900 neighbors have shown their dislike of the MoPac design since 1998 when the Loop 1/183 Improvement study began.
“One of the most pressing issues throughout our member neighborhoods that is not being satisfactorily addressed is the increase in traffic cutting through our neighborhoods,” Harris said. “Our neighborhood streets were never designed or intended for this.”
​
Neighborhoods have been devastated by the demolition of private property for years, Harris adds.
MoNAC works toward improving and maintaining the overall quality of the neighborhoods adjacent to MoPac. The association has since included the prevention of any additional taking for right of way in their position statement.
Ironically enough, MoNAC testified in favor of the Mopac Improvement project moving forward.
​
Despite increasing resident concerns, Harris said CTRMA, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, and TxDOT worked hard to get community feedback on the projects through open houses.“
While the project was not without controversy, both CTRMA and TxDOT really did make great strides in community outreach particularly after 2010,” said Harris.
​
For more than 30 years, MoNAC has worked with the CTRMA, TXDOT and CAMPO- the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization- to ensure that their combined objectives are achieved.
​
“As with many communities, toll facilities appeared to be one of the few solutions to help fund the additional lane and improve mobility,” Harris said.
​
With the creation of the express lane, it allowed the city at last to build the long promised sound walls while agreeing that there would be no additional taking of private property.
​
Harris said people living within 100 feet of the sound walls will reap the greatest benefits of the sound walls and the community in general will benefit from the improvements on MoPac.
Source: mopacexpress.com
Austin commuter Melyssa Fairfield waits for the Far West bus to arrive on Oct. 23, 2016. This bus route is only one of two that Fairfield rides in her daily commute to work. Photo by Jenah Ovalles-Forey.
Link to map: http://bit.ly/2f1K5k8
Source: mopacexpress.com