Texas State Highway 130
State Highway 130, also known as Texas 130 and SH 130, is a new tollway under construction in a 89-mile corridor east of Austin, Texas. It parallels Interstate 35 and is intended to relieve its traffic volume by serving as an alternate route. The northern terminus of State Highway 130 is Interstate 35 near Georgetown. Its southern terminus is Interstate 10 near Seguin, however as of 2006 the freeway will terminate at the U.S. Highway 183 interchange at Lockhart due to lack of funding.
The highway was developed in response to the tremendous surge in truck traffic experienced during the 1990s on the Interstate 35 corridor, especially originating from Laredo, where the Texas Department of Transportation reported 150 trucks entering the United States every hour. A proponent of the highway's development, Capital Area Transportation Coalition, said that congestion along the I-35 corridor is costing businesses more than $194 million a year in higher operating costs and lost productivity.
State Highway 130 will initially be a four-lane freeway, quickly expandable to six lanes.
Design
Groundbreaking for State Highway 130 took place on October 3, 2003. Highway 130 is being built in six stages, as follows:
- Segment 1 (Georgetown) -- extends from I-35 to U.S. 79. Scheduled for opening in September 2007.
- Segment 2 (Hutto) -- extends from U.S. 79 to U.S. 290. Scheduled for opening in September 2007.
- Segment 3 (East Austin) -- extends from U.S. 290 to SH 79. Scheduled for opening in September 2007.
- Segment 4 (Southeast Austin) -- extends from SH 79 to U.S. 183. Scheduled for opening in December 2007.
- Segment 5 (Lockhart) -- follows U.S. 183 from about 15 miles north of Lockhart for about 12 miles to the northern edge of the town itself. Scheduled for opening in December 2007.
- Segment 6 (Seguin) -- extends from U.S. 183 to Interstate 10, passing Lockhart to the west. Funding is not in place for this 40-mile segment and a completion date is not known.
The total project cost of State Highway 130 is expected to be $1.5 billion, a figure which includes utility relocation, right of way, design and construction. Right-of-way costs alone are estimated at $389 million.