Austin to unveil updated Project Connect light rail scope options next week

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austinites will soon get a preview of Project Connect light rail design considerations on the table at an open house March 21.

The community event will run from 4-7 p.m. at the Austin Public Library’s Central location at 710 W. Cesar Chavez St. It comes after Austin Transit Partnership — the entity tasked with delivering the multi-billion-dollar transit program — pressed pause on designs last summer amid projected cost increases. They had been expected to release 30% design and cost estimates then.

TOP STORY: 17 more charged in Austin ‘street takeover’ investigation’
Here’s a look back at the past year’s worth of light rail design discussions, in advance of next week’s open house.

March 2, 2022: 4 key Project Connect design proposals outlined
Project Connect leaders unveiled a four-part community engagement period for key elements along the Blue and Orange light rail lines:

Riverside/Pleasant Valley Station
The Drag
Blue Line Bridge at Lady Bird Lake
Crestview Station
For the Riverside and Pleasant Valley Station, officials outlined two possible design scopes. One featured an underpass design where the rail system would run beneath Pleasant Valley Road and the intersection’s configuration would remain unchanged. The second teased a possible at-grade transit plaza, where rail and bus services meet and operate on the same level as through traffic.

With The Drag, two options were floated: a combination of light rail with one lane of traffic in each direction, along with a second version that would promote light rail, bus services and shared use paths for pedestrians and cyclists while slashing vehicular traffic.