Project history

Resources

The history of Oak Hill Parkway

The intersection of US 290 and SH 71 has long been identified as a heavily congested intersection in need of solutions. In fact, improvements for this intersection have been included in the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's (CAMPO) Long Range Transportation Plan for over 25 years. CAMPO is the designated metropolitan planning organization for the greater-Austin area.

Quick links

Aug. 22, 1985 - Record of Decision (ROD) issued for a Final Environmental Impact Statement covering improvements to US 290 and SH 71 from RM 1826 to FM 973. The mid-section of the original project limits, between east of Williamson Creek and Riverside Drive, has been completed.
July 12, 2004 - CAMPO approved amendments to their 2030 regional transportation plan establishing an area-wide system of toll roads. Under these amendments, the US 290/SH 71 West corridor from west of RM 1826 to east of Williamson Creek could be tolled.
Summer 2005 - TxDOT presented designs for US 290/SH 71 West corridor from RM 1826 to east of Williamson Creek. Public input resulted in several design changes to better serve the community.
Nov. 16, 2005 - In a leetter to TxDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), several groups including Save our Springs, Save Barton Creek Association and the South Windmill Run Neighborhood Association jointly requested that a full EIS be completed for the US 290/SH 71 West project that included the TxDOT designs as well as a design that was created during an alternatives evaluation process
Spring 2006 - Fix290, the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods, and the Oak Hill Business and Professional Association, with assistance from the City of Austin, proposed a Context Sensitive Solution for Oak Hill. The CSS proposal was for a ground level roadway design concept. TxDOT conducted meeting with stakeholders and CSS Open House Meetings.
Spring/Summer 2007 - TxDOT participated in seven meeting with Fix290 and other stakeholders that were facilitated by the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution at the University of Texas School of Law. These meetings were held to discuss different design options being prepared by TxDOT. No consensus was reached during this mediation.
Aug. 15, 2008 - A Notice of Intent (NOI) was published in the Federal Register announcing TxDOT's intent to prepare a limited-scope Supplemental EIS (SEIS) for US 290/SH 71 West through Oak Hill. Due to funding constraints, this limited-scope SEIS was halted.
July 2011 - The Mobility Authority, in partnership with TxDOT, hosted the Green Mobility Challenge, a sustainable design competition that challenged Texas' most creative landscape architects, planners and engineers to propose better ways of constructing, operating and maintaining future transportation projects, including the intersection of US 290 and SH 71.
Spring 2012 - In an effort to reduce congestion within the US 290/SH 71 West corridor, TxDOT, in cooperation with the City of Austin and Travis County, proposed to improve mobility at five intersections within the study area by constructing interim intersection improvements.
July 2012 - A rescission of the 2008 NOI to prepare a limited-scope SEIS for US 290/SH 71 West through Oak Hill was published in the Federal Register and the Texas Register.
Oct. 2012 - NOIs were published in the Federal Register and the Texas Register announcing TxDOT's intent to prepare an EIS for US 290/SH 71 West through Oak Hill.
2014-2015 - Interim intersection improvements in the US 290 corridor were opened to traffic.
May 2018 - TxDOT and the Mobility Authority published the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for agency and public comment. The project is now proposed as a non-tolled roadway.
Dec. 2018 - TxDOT published the Final Enviromental Impact Statement (FEIS) and received a Record of Decision (ROD) in support of the build alternative.
May 2019 - TxDOT received approval of the EIS Reevalutation No. 1.
Feb. 2020 - TxDOT received approval of the EIS Reevalution No. 2.
Aug. 10, 2020 - TxDOT authorized Colorado River Constructors (CRC), the selected Design-Build contractor, to begin their contract to design and build the project.
July 1, 2021 - TxDOT broke ground on the Oak Hill Parkway project.
Dec. 2021 - TxDOT received approval of the EIS Reevaluation No. 3.

Public involvement

Public outreach during the environmental study phase included:

1 public hearing
6 open houses
7 virtual open houses
Over 1,100 official comments received
14 issue specific workshops
Over 80 stakeholder meetings

Your participation made significant improvements to the proposed project along US 290 and State Highway 71 through Oak Hill. Some of these improvements include:

Building a design that addresses the traffic congestion in the corridor
Building a design that separates through traffic from local traffic, providing both mobility and safety enhancements
Limiting proposed elevation at the US 290/SH 71 intersection to one level instead of two levels above existing ground
Building new facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians, including sidewalks and a shared-use path along the entire corridor
Lowering the US 290 mainlanes underneath cross-street overpasses at Circle Drive, Scenic Brook Drive, RM 1826 and Convict Hill Road, and at the US 290/SH 71 "Y" intersection
Looking to avoid or limit impacts to trees, especially the Grandmother Oak, Grandfather Oak and the Nieces Oaks in the vicinity of William Cannon Drive, and preserving the Beckett Grove Tree (formerly known as the Taco Bell Tree)
Extending the improvements west of Circle Drive and reducing the proposed project's footprint in that area
Minimizing impacts to Williamson Creek, including in areas where bridges would be placed over Williamson Creek
Adding natural treatments at Williamson Creek instead of a concrete culvert to channelize the waters; additionally, removing a significant amount of existing concrete out of the creek by building new bridges
Realigning William Cannon Drive to avoid large trees
Adding an upstream water detention pond
Planning for water quality best management practices like grassy swales, sedimentation/sand filtration basins and bioretention ponds
Improving access for businesses along SH 71 just north of US 290
Improving safety at US 290 and Old Bee Caves Road
Maintaining similar access of streets and neighborhoods to the frontage roads
Adding Texas turnaround U-turns to provide local access without sitting through a traffic light
Adding transit bus stop locations

Community input had a meaningful impact on project design. We'd like to thank the community for your participation throughout the process. Together, we've identified a solution that not only addresses traffic congestion, but honors the heritage and community of Oak Hill. We look forward to continuing the dialogue through the construction phase of the project.

Downloads

Full FEIS and ROD document

Full DEIS document

Public hearing summary

Public hearing presentation

Public hearing handouts