TxDOT says smaller projects help improve traffic, as big projects get underway

It might be hard to fathom by the looks of the flow of traffic on Interstate 35 during rush hour, but new data from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute showed Austin drivers are spending 21% less time in traffic.

KXAN Traffic Anchor Erica Brennes Spoke with the Texas Department of Transportation about what projects are contributing to that improvement, and what projects are now underway that may change that data.

I-35 stretches 509 miles across the state of Texas. Data from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found the portion that runs through downtown Austin is the third most congested roadway in the Lone Star State.

However, a new TTI report showed that despite growth in Austin’s population, and vehicle miles traveled up 7%, annual hours of delay in the last five years was down 21%.

“We attribute that to many things — operational improvements we’ve done on some small projects, but a number of projects we’ve built with our Texas Clear Lanes initiative to address congestion in our areas, and very proud to see that the annual hours of delay has been reduced, even though there’s been an increase in vehicle miles traveled across the state,” Tucker Ferguson, TxDOT’s Austin District Engineer, said.

Some of TxDOT’s completed projects behind that improvement include I-35 in Round Rock, I-35 at 51st Street, I-35 at Parmer Lane and I-35 at Oltorf Street.

But that percentage was calculated before new projects kicked off, like the I-35 Capital Express North and South projects, the Oak Hill Parkway and the Loop 360 project near Westlake Drive.

“Any kind of construction is inconvenient and disruptive. So we ask folks to pay attention to the surroundings,” Ferguson said. “There may be construction equipment coming in and out of work zones. There may be stoppages ahead that are unexpected. If there wasn’t that construction there, we just ask them to be patient. Leave early and not be in a rush.”

That stretch of road will see construction for the next decade.