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 north of Georgetown. Its southern terminus is Interstate 10 near Seguin, however as of 2006 the freeway will terminate at the U.S. Highway 183 interchange north of Lockhart due to lack of funding.

The highway was developed in response to the tremendous surge in truck traffic on the Interstate 35 corridor brought on by the North American Free Trade Agreement during the late 1990s, especially traffic 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 highway, 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. Offciially opened on December 13, 2006.
• Segment 2 (Hutto) -- extends from U.S. 79 to U.S. 290. Officially opened on November 1, 2006.
• Segment 3 (East Austin) -- extends from U.S. 290 to SH 71. Scheduled for opening in September 2007.
• Segment 4 (Southeast Austin) -- extends from SH 71 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.
• Segment 6 (Seguin) -- extends from U.S. 183 to Interstate 10, passing Lockhart to the west.

The cost of segments 1-4 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.

On June 28, 2006, Cintra-Zachry, the Trans-Texas Corridor developer, reached a 1.3 billion agreement with the state to build segments 5 and 6. In exchange for their investment, Cintra-Zachry will receive the right to collect tolls for 50 years in a revenue sharing agreement with the state. The state will own the road while the developer will be responsible for financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance over the life of the agreement

External links

• State Highway 130 project - official page
• Central Texas Turnpike - official page
• Anti-130 page (BicycleAustin.info)