Interesting news today....

Both of the articles below are from the Austin American Statesman website:



"For the second consecutive year, the Austin area ranked No. 3 nationally in traffic congestion, ahead of Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, according to a study to be released today by Texas A&M University researchers.
In 2010, the year studied in the report, the Austin area had a "travel time index" of 1.28 , meaning that a rush-hour trip takes 28 percent longer on average than one in free-flowing traffic. That puts the area behind only metropolitan Los Angeles, at 1.38, and the Washington area, with an index of 1.33, and tied with New York City and the San Francisco Bay area.
Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, with 1.27 and 1.23, respectively, have more acceptable traffic by that single measure from the Texas Transportation Institute, which is on the Texas A&M campus.
But Austin's 2010 congestion index remains at its 2007 level and down from a peak of 1.32 in 2005. Institute research engineer Tim Lomax, who initiated the mobility study as a Texas A&M graduate student in 1982 and has been one of its authors ever since, said the 70 miles of tollways that have opened in Austin's suburbs since late 2006 have had something to do with the change.
"But probably the biggest thing we've seen is the economy," Lomax said. "It's a serious drag on everything, and traffic congestion is certainly affected by the economy."
The study, which looked at traffic in more than 400 American cities, shows a similar depressive effect on road congestion nationwide. The overall travel time index, which was 1.25 in 2005, is now at 1.20 . Lomax and the other authors of the 51-page study warn that when economic numbers rise, so will traffic congestion, absent aggressive construction of road and rail projects and other traffic mitigation efforts.
"We recommend a balanced and diversified approach to reduce congestion — one that focuses on more of everything," the report said.
Austin, as in previous reports, fares better nationally on other congestion measures in the report.
The authors calculated a "commuter stress index" that looks only at the rush hour delay percentage in the main direction of travel (northbound on Interstate 35 from South Austin and Hays County in the morning, for instance, and southbound in the afternoon) and thus has higher numbers than the travel time index.
Austin's stress index for 2010 is 1.38 , putting it at eighth in the country. Houston traffic has a stress index of 1.40 , according to the report.
Austin's congestion cost, a measure that includes lost productivity and excess fuel from time spent idling in traffic, ranks 28th nationally, and the annual delay per commuter of 38 hours (about nine minutes per weekday) puts Austin at 15th .
Austin's congestion is heavily influenced by the presence of I-35 and all the cross-country traffic that flows through Austin on it, Lomax said.
San Antonio, by contrast, fared much better with a travel time index of 1.18 , which ranked 26th nationally , and a commuter stress index of 1.27 , which ranked 28th nationally .
"The couple of decades that (Austin) spent not building roads hoping people would not come, San Antonio spent that time building roads," he said. "They expanded I-10 and 410. They've got more ways through town."

Hello! That's exactly what I've been saying - Austin has WASTED the past few decades, refusing to build the roads needed, but hundreds of thousands of people moved here anyway. Now we're stuck with the results of them not doing anything - hours wasted every day sitting in traffic.

Now, this is some interesting news:

"Hays County commissioners, looking to get the endlessly delayed Texas 45 Southwest road built after more than 20 years of planning, voted unanimously Tuesday to put
$5 million into what would be a county road rather than a state highway.
The Commissioners Court called upon Travis County commissioners to join them as a financial partner in building a two- to three-lane , non-tolled version of Texas 45 Southwest linking FM 1626 to the south end of MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1). Travis County, which would home to virtually all of the three-mile route, would have to come up with the balance of the estimated $22 million construction cost.
The highway, as currently envisioned on Central Texas' long-range transportation plan, would be a four-lane divided tollway built and operated by the Texas Department of Transportation. TxDOT, under this scenario, would have to transfer back to Travis and Hays counties right of way bought by the two counties.
TxDOT Austin district engineer Carlos Lopez, who said he supports building Texas 45 Southwest in some form, did not foresee TxDOT standing in the way of a local effort to build a more modest version.
But transferring right of way would appear to be the least of the significant hurdles for this latest effort. Travis County commissioners last year voted 3-1 to take Texas 45 Southwest out of a long-range regional transportation plan. The court's opposition was based primarily on the environmental concerns related to the project since its inception in the 1980s. The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization brushed aside the county's official wishes and kept the proposed road alive.
Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe cast that lone vote on the Commissioners Court to sustain the tollway plan last year, and he supports the new, local-only plan as well, although he said $8 million from Hays County would make it an easier sell. Only the southern tip of the proposed road, where it would meet FM 1626 , is in Hays County.
Biscoe said there is $10 million to $12 million in "loose money" from other county transportation projects that came in under budget that could be directed to Texas 45 Southwest.
Travis County Commissioner Karen Huber , who represents Precinct 3 where the road would be located, was behind the move to take it out of the long-range plan last year. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
But Precinct 2 Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt , who voted with Huber last year on Texas 45 Southwest, said "there are still environmental and financial obstacles that translate to significant political obstacles. \u2026 I don't know where that loose money is."
Northern Hays County residents, who use FM 1626 to commute to Austin, and Shady Hollow residents in Travis County along Brodie Lane have long supported Texas 45 Southwest as a quick way to get to MoPac and relieve congestion on Brodie. The proposed tollway, however, faces a four- to five-year federal environmental study that was begun only recently, Lopez said. If the proposed road were taken off the state highway system and thus were built without federal money, the environmental review would be conducted by Travis County.
Steve Manila , Travis County's director of engineering and planning, said a county environmental review would take one to two years.
Hays County Commissioner Will Conley said he hopes Travis County's support is "strong because we've made not only a serious statement but attached a very large sum of money showing our dedication and commitment to moving this project forward."
Travis County has until Dec. 1 to respond to the Hays County offer, Conley said."

Hey, not a bad idea - if the Feds can't pull their heads out of their ass for years, tell 'em to get lost and build our own damn road. The stretch they're taking about would only run from the south end of Mopac over to 1626, but it really needs to extend all the way from I-35 to 290 west of Oak Hill - for now. After that's done, it can be extended to meet up with the south end of 620 at Hwy 71. (Hey, I think I mentioned that in my last post.)