Council OKs road projects

Measures authorize $110 million in projects from $720 million bond that was approved by voters.

Roughly six months after Austin voters approved a historically large transportation bond program, the city began in earnest Thursday to spend that money.

The Austin City Council without discussion approved a series of measures authorizing more than $110 million in projects stemming from the $720 million bond proposition. Some of that money will have to come from existing city revenue, then be reimbursed when the city in August begins to issue debt by selling property-tax-backed bonds.

The council also gave the go-ahead to hire 21 more employees in five city departments to help meet a tight eight-year deadline imposed by the council to get all of the transportation bond projects done.

As part of the $110 million approved Thursday, the council authorized agreements with the Texas Department of Transportation in which the city will provide part of the money for design and construction of improvements on TxDOT highways in Austin. That includes:

$46 million of bond money on Loop 360 for overpasses, with TxDOT kicking in $204 million

$7.5 million for a new cutthrough road between RM 2222 and RM 620, joining $17.9 million from TxDOT

$17 million from the city to widen Parmer Lane, augmented by $6 million from TxDOT

Much of that spending might not occur for a year or more as TxDOT works on environmental clearance and design of the highway work.