MoPac express toll lane project could get $137 million TxDOT windfall

AUSTIN, Texas — The MoPac toll lane project could get an additional $136.6 million from the Texas Department of Transportation, money that officials say would accelerate the start of the project by at least six months.

Under the proposal, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority would pay back the money at 3 percent interest over the next 22 years to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which would then parcel it out to other area road projects.

The unusual arrangement would secure highway money for the area that TxDOT might otherwise direct elsewhere in the state because of tight federal deadlines. This approach, mobility authority officials said Monday, could save the agency tens of millions of dollars in interest and other costs associated with borrowing money

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Information from Austin American-Statesman