Capital Metro shares new details on proposed downtown Austin subway tunnel
AUSTIN, Texas - Capital Metro has shared new details about the proposed downtown Austin subway tunnel. The project is part of the billion-dollar Project Connect that will add light rail throughout the city.
New cross-section renderings show how the multi-level subway will be laid out.
There are plans for a concourse level with underground shopping above the train platforms and a tunnel entrance expected at Guadalupe.
The light rail will travel underground along 4th Street and into the Rainey Street District.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
- Subway plans proposed for Downtown Austin as part of Project Connect
- Cap Metro's leading plan for The Drag would eliminate car traffic
- Project Connect: Designs give first look at blue line in downtown Austin
Engineers have also been considering ways to make sure this system can be expanded.
Andrew Knipp with AECOM says, "We're up against some engineering constraints. And I wouldn't say we're thinking about future-proofing necessarily, but we'd have to go deeper to certainly to connect some of those underground stations if we do add a subway line routing out."
Since voters approved Project Connect funds in 2020, costs have increased by an estimated 70%. Officials say this is due to higher real estate prices, labor shortages, and supply chain barriers in the past year.