By Andy Sevilla.
The construction of State Highway 45 Southwest in on the fast track, bypassing lengthy, stringent federal reviews, now that the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), has stripped the $100 million project of federal funding.
Without federal dollars, the state could move forward with the project, eliminating environmental requirements attached to the federal dollars, and instead SH45 SW would be subject to state guidelines, which some critics say are more lax.
Longtime SH45 SW proponent, Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, helped engineer the state-for-federal fund swap in order to speed construction of the four-lane toll road. Daugherty has advocated for building the roadway – which is in his Travis County precinct – for more than two decades.
CAMPO board members transferred $8.62 million in federal funds from SH45 Southwest to the US 183 South tollway project Monday night in a 16-2 vote. CAMPO also transferred $8.2 million in state funding from US 183 to SH45. Austin council members Chris Riley and Bill Spellman were the two dissenting votes, while Hays County Pct. 3 Commissioner, who chairs the CAMPO board, Will Conley and San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero voted for the dollar swap.
The 3.6-mile long stretch of roadway would be built over the recharge zone of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer, which has spurred strong opposition from environmental groups and the city of Austin.
“They (Austin City staff) note that the state environmental study will not be as rigorous or robust as the requirements of the federal National Environmental Policy Act procedures; and the city has a policy to support the comprehensive review and careful consideration of infrastructure improvements in this environmentally sensitive area,” Riley said in opposition to removing federal funding from the project.
Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe, however, said the move by CAMPO was a “simple” step toward reallocating federal funds away from SH45 because another strategy – toll – to fund the project “right away” has surfaced.
Biscoe added that environmental protection would be paramount, “and I don’t know how we can do more than say, ‘we’ll spend whatever amount of money is necessary to protect the environment.”
With the removal of federal funding, Biscoe said Hays and Travis counties will partner to pony up $20 million for the project and the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority would issue $80 million in debt to cover the remaining funding needed to construct the four-lane toll way.
Save Our Springs Executive Director Bill Bunch told CAMPO board members that the state has “flip flopped” on the issue and decided to fast track SH45 Southwest and abandon the federal funding to dodge their environmental requirements.
“If any place in our region needs a good, honest study, it’s here in the “most vulnerable drinking water supply in the state,” Bunch said.
CAMPO Chair Will Conley said Hays County, Travis County, the state and CTRMA have been working in concert to “find a good solution to the development of Southwest 45.”
“There is unanimous support in Hays County to develop this roadway, to do so in a responsible manner, but to do so also as efficiently and effectively as we possibly can,” Conley said. “I believe this process will serve us best in accomplishing all those goals.”
Hays and Travis Counties have both passed resolutions supporting SH45 Southwest with unanimous support.
Officials said the project would be subject to the state’s environmental impact statement, which mirrors the requirements of the federal government.
