Without the SH 45 extension to I-35, who needs a massive reconstruction of FM 1626?

Huber said if the 1626 intersection at Manchaca is redesigned and improvements are made to Manchaca, it might lessen the traffic on Brodie and eliminate the need for 45 SW

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FM 1626 – does the traffic justify expansion to 5 lanes?

Update, Thursday Oct. 15 – We are informed the 1626 reconstruction project is currently bogged down in environmental matters, apparently golden cheek warbler habitat-related. "They are still working on the design," said a county official. Due to recent road management changes in which commissioners have taken on "road czar" status in their own precincts, much, if not all, of the decision-making on this pricey project is falling in the lap of Pct. 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton. We haven't had much luck connecting with Commissioner Huger of Travis County; and still no word from county-paid road bond consultant Mike Weaver.

Editor's Note: In a report last week from the Oak Hill Gazette, Travis County Commissioner Karen Huber says the planned extension of SH 45 SW to I-35 is not likely to pan out. Things have changed, she says, which shines a whole new light on a planned $90-plus million reconstruction of FM 1626 in northern Hays County into a 4- or 5-lane super commuter arterial. Would three lanes that could handle 17,000 vehicles safely be more efficient? The 1626 project is by far the most expensive in the 2008 road bond, and could wind up becoming the most wasteful if the reconstruction proceeds as initially sold to the voters and taxpayers. On that point and more clarification, we're waiting to hear back from Commissioner Huber, whose precinct abuts the north Hays County line at Brodie Lane and Manchaca Rd. We've got calls in to the Hays County Auditor's office to check on 1626 expenditures to date, and to the county's road bond consultant to check on current plans. It is disturbing to hear that 1626 – the proposed project – "is bleeding all over itself." That could mean needless waste already is occurring and/or some of our county officials don't have their acts together.

Statesman.Com
From Rob Baxter of the Friendship Alliance of north Hays County: It is said that every cloud has a silver lining and in (this) case, whatever the economic cloud may be, it has the silver lining of reality attached to it. When times get tight the reality is that our genuine needs should take precedence and our imagined needs should go to the back burner, if not be pushed off the table. Hopefully, reality is showing SW45 not only the back-burner, but the table as well.

For years now, the self-interested residents of South Brodie Lane and the Northern Hays development interests cheered on by Hays County Commissioner Jeff Barton, have argued for the connection of FM 1626 to South MOPAC. For South Brodie residents, this gets them on MOPAC literally a few minutes sooner. For Jeff Barton, it justifies his FM 1626 pork barrel planning.

When drawn on a piece of paper, this SW45 connector can appear to be logical and maybe even necessary, but the reality is that it is neither logical or needed. Were this road to go in, it would serve primarily to permanently congest South MOPAC as thousands of cars from North Hays and the new I-35/FM 1626 bypass feeder would dump right onto MOPAC. Those of us from FM1826 and 290W who drive South MOPAC daily certainly do not see the logic in that.

Alternatively, looking at any map it is obvious that FM1626 can far more easily and with less environmental impact expand east to I-35, which it already intersects as a two-lane road. But the reality is that without 45SW or a 45SE, there is simply no need for the largesse of five lanes on FM 1626, so that wasted money can pretty much be saved right away or better yet, diverted to genuine roadway needs elsewhere in Hays County. Please read on and sigh for once, that logic and not greed, may prevail.

Read the whole story here.

By Tony Tucci
Oct. 7, 2009

OAK HILL - Arguments for the construction of State Highway 45 Southwest (SH 45 SW) are developing cracks even before the first yard of concrete is poured.

Precinct 3 County Commissioner Karen Huber, while saying that she still favors the roadway, pointed out some of the problems in a speech before the Oak Hill Business and Professional Association last week.

"I'm not saying SH 45 SW shouldn't be built," Huber said. "I'm just saying that conditions are different than they were 20 years ago." One difference is that traffic patterns in Southwest Travis County and Northern Hays County are changing and there may be less need for SH 45 SW. Huber pointed out that activity centers are being built in Buda, Kyle and San Marcos and a lot of Hays County traffic is heading south instead of into Austin.

The 1626-Brodie corridor traffic count didn't even make the top 20 of the most congested roads on the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) list, Huber said. "So that makes it a problem for CAMPO to push through the priority of this project."

Residents along Brodie Lane have been outspoken about the need for the project, and recently held a support rally to convince CAMPO that the project is needed. Huber said the traffic count on Brodie in 2009 was 11,000. Without Highway 45 SW, the traffic count in 2015 would be 13,500; and with Highway 45 SW, the traffic count in 2015 would be 10,500. "So you're not looking at a whole lot of relief," she said.

The major obstacle, however, is funding. "The bottom line is that regardless of the fact that the economy has gone bad, the funding for 45 SW is very difficult." She said there are no funds to build it as a non-toll road, and the traffic count will not justify going out in the market to fund a toll road.

"The bottom line is that the money is not there. So what do I do as your county commissioner? We have our staff working on ways to relieve the congestion," Huber said. She said Manchaca Road has much more capacity to carry the volume of traffic. "I actually made the trip and it only took me six minutes longer to go 1626 to Manchaca to William Cannon and back to Brodie." Huber said if the 1626 intersection at Manchaca is redesigned and improvements are made to Manchaca, it might lessen the traffic on Brodie and eliminate the need for 45 SW.