Sunday traffic (Austin, Seguin, Cisco: transportation, designs, money)

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

The split road is not new, but the population of Austin has grown exponentially since I-35 constructed, and little to nothing has been done on I-35 to address the increased traffic.

The trucks don't help either.

I beg to differ. Alot of work has been done to I-35 through Austin since it was constructed. The entire 43 years I been living in Austin I do believe there has always been some kind of road work going on somewhere on I-35 thru Austin.

I do agree, that if by "trucks" you mean semis, they don't help. They play a big role in making the I-35 traffic seem so hectic and nerve wrecking. Thank Goodness for MoPac where I do not believe semis are allowed to drive on, unless maybe they might have a delivery? I can't say for sure, but I do know it's a rare sight to see a semi on MoPac.

The State needs to give the semis a good insentive to take the toll road around Austin instead of I-35 thru Austin. I always thought the toll road around Austin should be free for the semis, but if they choose to take I-35 thru Austin then they would need to pay a toll. The toll road is a further drive and it's not cheap to take the full bypass around Austin from near Buda to Georgetown, so most semi drivers choose to take 35 thru Austin. That's why the State needs to make it worth the semi driver's while to take the toll road around Austin.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

I beg to differ. Alot of work has been done to I-35 through Austin since it was constructed. The entire 43 years I been living in Austin I do believe there has always been some kind of road work going on somewhere on I-35 thru Austin.

I do agree, that if by "trucks" you mean semis, they don't help. They play a big role in making the I-35 traffic seem so hectic and nerve wrecking. Thank Goodness for MoPac where I do not believe semis are allowed to drive on, unless maybe they might have a delivery? I can't say for sure, but I do know it's a rare sight to see a semi on MoPac.

The State needs to give the semis a good insentive to take the toll road around Austin instead of I-35 thru Austin. I always thought the toll road around Austin should be free for the semis, but if they choose to take I-35 thru Austin then they would need to pay a toll. The toll road is a further drive and it's not cheap to take the full bypass around Austin from near Buda to Georgetown, so most semi drivers choose to take 35 thru Austin. That's why the State needs to make it worth the semi driver's while to take the toll road around Austin.

I've seen semi's on MoPac and haven't seen any signs prohibiting them from using it. The main reason they probably do not use it is because MoPac does not touch any heavily industrialized areas and it also is out of route for general thru traffic.

From what I have seen, most of the work done on I-35 besides the split level and the work in S.Austin has been bandaid work in comparison to what I-35 needs. I-35 needs to be about 4 thru lanes each way with optional 1 - 2 exit only lanes for certain exits.

The problem with making 130 free for trucks is trucks make up for 5x - 7x the road wear over the average car which is why toll roads generally charge trucks more to use them. If the tolls aren't paying for that, then the state will have to pay for it, as well as foot the bill for the increased truck traffic on that route. Then you run into the issue of who should be paying for the maintenance, the tolls or the state given state funds would technically have to maintain the road twice as much as the tolls would. Add atop this, 130 would also lose many of its tolled advantages should it become encumbered by trucks meaning cars would be less inclined to use and pay for it. Essentially the only way that would work, is if 130 were to be completely paid off and free for everyone to use...which would technically not be possible until the state pays off the bond.

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by brock2010

I was in Austin the Sunday after Halloween and traffic was bumper to bumper on I-35. Are Sunday's usually that busy?

I-35 is a disaster and has been for decades. And will be for the rest of our lives.

Part of the problem is our city council has been anti automobile for a long time. They would rather spend $10 - 15 billion on rail that will have no measurable impact on traffic than spend any money on freeways.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by The Pointer

Nobody said the 35 split was new. As a matter of fact it’s age should demonstrate familiarity, which should translate into a different habit, but it’s the same thing over and over again.

The main issue with the I-35 split is the express lanes are on the right which causes a lot of conflict when they re-meet the general purpose lanes as traffic is forced to weeve in order to take the downtown exits and thru traffic is forced to either wait or merge back to the left lanes.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by The Pointer

When was the last time you entered a freeway on the left side? Everyone is still in the proper lane at that point.

During the split, the local lanes are on the left which is the submerged part of the road. Those are the lanes that take you to the UT exits. After the split, the local lanes are on the right, or the lanes that take you to Downtown exits. Thru traffic not intending to exit at either node - usually using the elevated lanes, must weeve back to the left lanes to evade downtown exiting / entering traffic. And traffic from the submerged lanes must weeve right to take the downtown exits.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

During the split, the local lanes are on the left which is the submerged part of the road. Those are the lanes that take you to the UT exits. After the split, the local lanes are on the right, or the lanes that take you to Downtown exits. Thru traffic not intending to exit at either node - usually using the elevated lanes, must weeve back to the left lanes to evade downtown exiting / entering traffic. And traffic from the submerged lanes must weeve right to take the downtown exits.

I think you’re thinking of one exit-the 15th/mlk exit. It’s a pain but it’s the only exit on the upper level and in normal traffic you can move over to the left lane to let the on ramp traffic merge without issue. Even in rush hour traffic I have never once not been able to move over and I lived at Cameron/51st and commuted on 35 to Slaughter and mopac for four months. Once you get back to all five lanes the exit to 6th street is a pain, but it doesn’t come up right away and if you’re familiar with traffic, you should be able to get over. I’ve done this drive a thousand times in rush hour and have never once struggled to move over from that exit only lane. But, I also don’t wait until the last se one to get over because I’m not a jerk. And if you take the upper level and need to get over to that exit you screwed your self over. Most gps programs will tell you to take the upper level instead of the lower level.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

I think you’re thinking of one exit-the 15th/mlk exit. It’s a pain but it’s the only exit on the upper level and in normal traffic you can move over to the left lane to let the on ramp traffic merge without issue. Even in rush hour traffic I have never once not been able to move over and I lived at Cameron/51st and commuted on 35 to Slaughter and mopac for four months. Once you get back to all five lanes the exit to 6th street is a pain, but it doesn’t come up right away and if you’re familiar with traffic, you should be able to get over. I’ve done this drive a thousand times in rush hour and have never once struggled to move over from that exit only lane. But, I also don’t wait until the last se one to get over because I’m not a jerk. And if you take the upper level and need to get over to that exit you screwed your self over. Most gps programs will tell you to take the upper level instead of the lower level.

The issue isn't so much not being able to get over, the issue is, merging causes traffic to slow down and in turn obstructs the general flow. Even if the merger does not slow down, the car adjacent will have to in order to let them in, which causes a chain reaction slowing others down. The less conflict points on a road the more free flowing traffic generally is.

I still feel it would be better as one level with dedicated thru lanes for traffic not intending to exit near UT or Downtown on the left (and remain on the left). As it currently is, thru traffic that takes the left lanes must fight local traffic near UT. Most thru cars though I notice end up taking the elevated section. Traffic that may enter I-35 near UT must merge all the way over to the right lanes after the split ends if they intend on taking 15th / MLK, 12th or 6th, conflicting the elevated lanes in process causing them to back up as well.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

I still feel it would be better as one level with dedicated thru lanes for traffic not intending to exit near UT or Downtown on the left (and remain on the left). As it currently is, thru traffic that takes the left lanes must fight local traffic near UT. Most thru cars though I notice end up taking the elevated section. Traffic that may enter I-35 near UT must merge all the way over to the right lanes after the split ends if they intend on taking 15th / MLK, 12th or 6th, conflicting the elevated lanes in process causing them to back up as well.

If you want to exit 6th-12th street and you’re on the lower level, your best option is to just stay on the access road. It sucks but it’s the safer and less risky option. I’ve sat in many sun access roads Rudy hour traffic after evening meetings at Dell seton. The only time I would get on 35 between 4 and 7 pm us if I were at 35/st. John’s and exiting 15th, never any further into town if I needed to exit a major downtown street. Either that or I’d take surface streets.

[Need4Camaro]

Someone rep'd me and told me I should be a traffic engineer.. ..to be fair, Civil Engineering was my first major before I went into IT. I intended to become one but the main thing that stopped me was finding out how terrible their salaries were when employed by government entities despite having fairly high academic credentials. Urban Planning and transportation design has been a passion of mine since I was a kid. I literally used to take notepads and draw out road designs as well as other infrastructure wasting gobs and gobs of notebook paper (my parents hated me for this, instead of doing homework I was drawing Highways) - then came Sim City, and then came Camaroland!

This is the kind of stuff Camaro does when he gets bored.

[brock2010]

^^Nice!!