What in the hell in TXDOT doing with the only major highway directly between Austin and Houston? I understand that you could say I-10 to toll 130 is a sort of bypass, but living in the area, I keep watching more and more radios development east of Austin hemming the existing right of way in and eliminating any means of a future bypass at the end of the existing tollway.

Meanwhile they haven't even given a hint of adding an overpass at any of the intersections near Manor or the one in Elgin. And they Dem to add a new red light with terrible light timing about every 3 months at existing side roads, further snarling traffic on a daily basis.

I checked the TxDOT website for upcoming expansion projects and it is pretty much like TXDoT is pretending 290 doesn't even exist. Yet there is a gigantic toll road being completed up Hwy 183 to…. Sparsely populated ranch land north of Liberty Hill.

Is TxDOT's planning department going delusional?

The Collective said:

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Must be some rich property owners ready to develop some of that land north of Liberty Hill. That's all I got.

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My first thought as well. What is being planned there?

If they really want to do a big project, they'll eminent domain anything in the way.

They aren't delusional, they just do what they want to.

It was just surveyed last year. All the Overpasses thru Manor and Elgin is going to transform those towns more than yall think. Lots of property being take also for ROW. Also it will be 10 plus years till complete

I figured they would just continue that toll road through Manor to 95 east of Elgin. Then there is one traffic light in McDade that would need an overpass. I believe they are getting public input for a bypass of Giddings. Then figure out that messed up interchange in Brenham. Finally an overpass for the one light Chapel Hill.

I believe they're going to expand 183 all the way to I-35...which makes a lot of sense, given the population trends, and the need to alleviate some traffic on I-35 coming into town.

AgGrad99 said:

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I believe they're going to expand 183 all the way to I-35...which makes a lot of sense, given the population trends, and the need to alleviate some traffic on I-35 coming into town.

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As a toll road?

I lived in Manor for 7 years, during the construction of the 290 Tollway that was originally supposed to go through Manor a couple miles past 973(Walmart). I went to the town hall and it was a full scale uproar against 'dividing Manor' with a highway and that there were plans for a loop that should be implemented instead of tolls. So the toll authority cut out the part east of Parmer and here we are 15 years later with a constant congestion that…divides Manor!

I have heard the toll folks want to do a tollway all the way through Elgin now, but it seems like a fantasy getting through Manor and Elgin at this point

My current commute is from Georgetown, down 130 to 290, then out 290 to Elgin. There are a couple poorly timed lights in that last stretch. Building 300 apt units there that will be adding to the 290 traffic. That's in addition to all of the other starter home neighborhoods going up out this way

If you are familiar with that area (I'm not) what is the deal with the free trucker parking on the side of the road right on 290 just east of Parmer. A dozen or so clapped out semi-trailers covered in graffiti mixed in with beater cars all mostly with no plates? Technically not Manor. I think it's Travis County. Looks like Mexico. All in what I assume is the ROW

aggie orbitalwelder said:

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I figured they would just continue that toll road through Manor to 95 east of Elgin. Then there is one traffic light in McDade that would need an overpass. I believe they are getting public input for a bypass of Giddings. Then figure out that messed up interchange in Brenham. Finally an overpass for the one light Chapel Hill.

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The 290/36 interchange in Brenham is already being done. Basically everything from the old Gattiland west of town to the interchange on the south side of the highway is being acquired. The acquisition process began in spring 2024.

From 2nd hand info, all the TxDOT projects in Austin area that would potentially improve 290 Austin to Elgin and 71 Austin to Bastrop, keep having their budgets redirected back to 35.

They atleast finally broke ground on building the next 71 bridge near Berdolls

The light on 71 at Cedar Creek HS is really dangerous.

aggiehawg said:

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AgGrad99 said:

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I believe they're going to expand 183 all the way to I-35...which makes a lot of sense, given the population trends, and the need to alleviate some traffic on I-35 coming into town.

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As a toll road?

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I'd assume so. Everything past Lakeline is a toll already...I assume they'll just expand it as a toll. They've also just completed adding toll lanes, to most of 183 south of Lakeline. (It's also a toll heading to the airport now).

Nothing like taking an existing route, that people have used for decades, and slapping tolls on them.

For some reason, our State is incapable of building new highways in our cities now, without it being a toll road

https://290extensionproject.com/

Sims said:

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Rule of thumb is, if it's obvious what the need is, TxDOT is planning to start planning it. If TxDOT has approved a plan, the need has doubled. If the plan is constructed, the current demand has already overwhelmed the new infrastructure.

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Its already planned and surveyed. Engineers are working on it.

aggiehawg said:

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The Collective said:

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Must be some rich property owners ready to develop some of that land north of Liberty Hill. That's all I got.

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My first thought as well. What is being planned there?

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A new downtown project, about 20000 new homes, multiple high schools, middle schools and elementary schools. 183A Toll road extension through Liberty Hill has been completed for the most part and they are building a Costco, Target and Sam's among other things along that route. It is unrecognizable from even 5 years ago.

AgGrad99 said:

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aggiehawg said:

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AgGrad99 said:

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I believe they're going to expand 183 all the way to I-35...which makes a lot of sense, given the population trends, and the need to alleviate some traffic on I-35 coming into town.

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As a toll road?

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I'd assume so. Everything past Lakeline is a toll already...I assume they'll just expand it as a toll. They've also just completed adding toll lanes, to most of 183 south of Lakeline. (It's also a toll heading to the airport now).

Nothing like taking an existing route, that people have used for decades, and slapping tolls on them.

For some reason, our State is incapable of building new highways in our cities now, without it being a toll road

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The Hubs and I were still around for that original transition when 183 became a toll road virtually overnight. Wejust stopped using 183.

The weird thing was that both of us kept receiving toll road fines at our new address years after we left Travis County and were no where near either Travis nor that corner of Williamson County. He finally called about the last one and somehow his black one ton truck had become a yellow VW Beetle according to the toll pictures.

They stopped sending those notices after that.

Let me guess: you sold the vehicle or traded it in and didn't take the plates off. Same thing happened to me about a year ago.

It's definitely changed out there. What annoys me is the lack of planning and budgeting, and the only solution being adding tolls to pay for new roads.

Take Mopac for example. Free lanes all the way from downtown to Braker area...and when they wanted to expand it to 130, they made it a toll. They couldnt even extend it 3 miles without tolling it.

I wouldnt mind it so much, if Austin had existing infrastructure like Dallas. You have 18 different options to get around town in Dallas. In Austin, there's often 1 or 2 options, and that's about it. So you're kinda forced to use the tolls whether you want to or not.

Ags20-10_'75 said:

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aggiehawg said:

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The Collective said:

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Must be some rich property owners ready to develop some of that land north of Liberty Hill. That's all I got.

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My first thought as well. What is being planned there?

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A new downtown project, about 20000 new homes, multiple high schools, middle schools and elementary schools. 183A Toll road extension through Liberty Hill has been completed for the most part and they are building a Costco, Target and Sam's among other things along that route. It is unrecognizable from even 5 years ago.

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I built a big apartment project on 183A/Crystal Falls around 2017 and it felt like the furthest thing out there before getting to 29. I drove that section last week and wow. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by 9 years of progress but damn.

All the capital in the Austin district is being swallowed up by 35, and TxDOTs funding statewide is stretched pretty thin right now. I wouldn't expect any non-essential projects getting greenlit for a while.

HTownAg98 said:

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Let me guess: you sold the vehicle or traded it in and didn't take the plates off. Same thing happened to me about a year ago.

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No. We still had the same vehicles back then. The Hubs is one of those guys that never sells anything and I keep my vehicles for 14-15 years. And they were all registered in our home county. But the toll authorities still tracked us down with threatening letters about unpaid tolls.

As I said, when The Hubs did call about one and had the gal pull up the vehicle description on the registration and then the picture associated with that toll notice, she finally got it. License plate aside, how does a black one ton pickup truck with a huge brush guard on front turn into a VW Beetle? They were going off of either license plate numbers nor vehicle registrations.

Just weird.

MouthBQ98 said:

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What in the hell in TXDOT doing with the only major highway directly between Austin and Houston? I understand that you could say I-10 to toll 130 is a sort of bypass, but living in the area, I keep watching more and more radios development east of Austin hemming the existing right of way in and eliminating any means of a future bypass at the end of the existing tollway.

Meanwhile they haven't even given a hint of adding an overpass at any of the intersections near Manor or the one in Elgin. And they Dem to add a new red light with terrible light timing about every 3 months at existing side roads, further snarling traffic on a daily basis.

I checked the TxDOT website for upcoming expansion projects and it is pretty much like TXDoT is pretending 290 doesn't even exist. Yet there is a gigantic toll road being completed up Hwy 183 to…. Sparsely populated ranch land north of Liberty Hill.

Is TxDOT's planning department going delusional?

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I-10 to Hwy 71 is the way you get from Houston to Austin. No one would ever take I-10 to Toll 130 unless they were lost

Now TXDOT needs to build some overpasses between Bastrop and Austin to get rid of the lights to make it a fully functional highway (same scenario as 290 in Elgin).

SB IV said:

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From 2nd hand info, all the TxDOT projects in Austin area that would potentially improve 290 Austin to Elgin and 71 Austin to Bastrop, keep having their budgets redirected back to 35.

They atleast finally broke ground on building the next 71 bridge near Berdolls

The light on 71 at Cedar Creek HS is really dangerous.

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Do you live in the area ? I'm in Double Eagle ranch behind Berdolls. I take my life in my hands every day, especially if going to Bastrop. Have considered moving back to Lakeway as I might die on 71!!!

The annual "TxDOT sucks" post. We repeat this every few years.

Here is what is happening with TxDOT.

In 2024 they had a right of way budget of 1.5bn and they spent something like 2.3 bn. This is ROW alone. The Austin District was not irresponsible and they only went over by a few million bucks. Some of the other Districts went 70% and more over their budgets. No one cared.

This money overspend comes out of their 2025 budget that ended Oct 1, 2025. That means that in 2025 they had the 1.5 bn MINUS the overspend of 800 million, minus subsurface utility...BOOM, there was nothing left and they shut down for 2025. So now we are in the 2026 fiscal year.

The official budget was again 1.5 billion for TxDOT ROW but that number is deceiving. First in 2026 they did not receive the gas tax money they thought was coming. Second, the feds didn't pay what was expected from the infrastructure bill and the normal fed money. Third, the well money was significantly lower than expected. (Yes, TxDOT gets a lot of their money from a tax on well heads). Fourth, subsurface utility took a WHOLE lot more money than expected. Fifth, Sixth... So Right of Way had maybe half the money they expected to have in 2026. So 2026 has become a wash and TxDOT is doing very little in projects.

And this problem wasn't just right of way. Planning and Design had WAY less money than expected, construction had WAY less money than expected, maintenance is the last one cut and they don't have any money. Everything had way less than what they were expecting.

And then money was shifted to the border wall... Abbot wanted it.


Long story longer, TxDOT had no money in 2026, just like 2025. Projections for 2027 are that there won't be much money, but hopes are high that the TxDOT thing will get going again in FY 2028, starting in October 2027.


So why don't they build a toll road or some sort of PPP? Well back around 2022 the Governor saw how many roads were owned or licensed by Ferrovial through the toll systems and freaked out. He literally said "no more toll" and that business instantly dried up. The only toll road since that time was the attempt in Cibolo, which was stopped by the City of Cibolo and was done by a private company. New toll in Texas is dead, the only thing left is existing road contracts.

So what can be done? Nothing. Texas and the feds choose the border wall over roads, bridges, maintenance, etc. They pulled all of the hurricane drainage funding and sent it to the border, there is no action on City roads, County roads, State roads, FM roads, or interstate roads. The bridge work from the infrastructure bill is gone.

Will they look at 290 in the near future? No way. They are taking IH35 under the lake and rebuilding it all the way to North Austin. I think the budget for that project is something like 13.5 bn. They are finishing IH45 around downtown Houston for a cool 14bn. No money left.


All I can say is Deal with it. You all thought a border wall and cheap gas was so important that you were willing to give up all other infrastructure projects for it. Now it is what it is.

MouthBQ98 said:

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What in the hell in TXDOT doing with the only major highway directly between Austin and Houston? I understand that you could say I-10 to toll 130 is a sort of bypass, but living in the area, I keep watching more and more radios development east of Austin hemming the existing right of way in and eliminating any means of a future bypass at the end of the existing tollway.

Meanwhile they haven't even given a hint of adding an overpass at any of the intersections near Manor or the one in Elgin. And they Dem to add a new red light with terrible light timing about every 3 months at existing side roads, further snarling traffic on a daily basis.

I checked the TxDOT website for upcoming expansion projects and it is pretty much like TXDoT is pretending 290 doesn't even exist. Yet there is a gigantic toll road being completed up Hwy 183 to…. Sparsely populated ranch land north of Liberty Hill.

Is TxDOT's planning department going delusional?

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Mouth, I genuinely like your posting, but to call the Liberty Hill area sparsely populated ranch land makes the rest of your post look silly. I absolutely share your frustration though. We have a location in Manor and my Tuesday afternoons are spent sitting waiting and wishing for a flying car

knoxtom said:

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All I can say is Deal with it. You all thought a border wall and cheap gas was so important that you were willing to give up all other infrastructure projects for it. Now it is what it is.

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So the departments go 70% over budget and we're out of money because border wall. Noted.

I live several miles east of Giddings, about a mile from 290. If I'm heading into north Austin, it often takes me longer to get through Manor than it does for me to get to Manor. That's just f'n dumb.

Why are they not receiving the gas tax funds? Oil industry brochures love to spout how much they give for state funds.

That tunnel under Ladybird Lake is gonna be a massive undertaking, hope they have some good contractors that know how to build a tunnel that meets interstate traffic/safety standards.

twelve12twelve said:

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Why are they not receiving the gas tax funds? Oil industry brochures love to spout how much they give for state funds.

That tunnel under Ladybird Lake is gonna be a massive undertaking, hope they have some good contractors that know how to build a tunnel that meets interstate traffic/safety standards.

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I'll be impressed if they even manage to get the basic engineering correct. The ever present risk of flooding with two dams upstream, one massive, Mansfield Dam, the entrances and exits to such a tunnel would have to be further removed from the existing shores.

In my ignorance, a big bridge over that lake would be cheaper and less complicated seems to me.

Why the hell there was never a major freeway linking the Capital to the largest city in the state is mind blowing.

290 is trash and needs to be over hauled. Yet that will take another 40 years.

aggiehawg said:

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In my ignorance, a big bridge over that lake would be cheaper and less complicated seems to me.

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But gosh, what an asthetic monstrosity that would be. /austin