HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > United States > Texas & Southcentral > Austin


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #5941  
Old Posted Feb 21, 2018, 11:39 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
Man....the June redo of the CapMetro bus system can’t come soon enough. So sick of all the damn turns on two way roads in downtown.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5942  
Old Posted Feb 22, 2018, 5:01 AM
JoninATX JoninATX is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: The ATX
Posts: 3,315
Official Wants Driverless-Only Lanes on Busy Texas Highway

Quote:
By Bruce Selcraig
Feb 20th. 2018

Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff believes that a meeting he had last month in Washington with federal transportation officials could lead to construction of lanes for driverless automated vehicles on the Austin-San Antonio section of Interstate 35.

"This is the first proposal of its kind in the nation that I'm aware of," Wolff said. "And when the feds heard about it, they told me, 'This is just the kind of proposal we want to fund.'"

If it happens, it'll take a while. The 95-mile stretch of eight-lane highway -- perennially named one of the nation's most congested traffic corridors -- is already scheduled for an $8 billion expansion to add four "managed lanes" around 2025, according to the regional Alamo Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO, which Wolff chairs.
http://www.govtech.com/fs/infrastruc...s-Highway.html
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5943  
Old Posted Feb 22, 2018, 10:20 PM
KevinFromTexas's Avatar
KevinFromTexas KevinFromTexas is offline
Meh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: there and back again
Posts: 57,324
An FAA permit for a crane working on the SH-71/US 183 interchange.

It's a 210 foot crane and is mighty close to the west runway at ABIA.

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external...57411785&row=6
__________________
Donate to Donald Trump's campaign today!

Thou shall not indict
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5944  
Old Posted Feb 23, 2018, 2:47 AM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas View Post
An FAA permit for a crane working on the SH-71/US 183 interchange.

It's a 210 foot crane and is mighty close to the west runway at ABIA.

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external...57411785&row=6
It looks like they are putting it in the detention pond which sits 20-30 feet below the runway so it won't appear to be quite that tall but it's still up there.

The intersection will still keep 3 of the cloverleaf style connections but there will also be a very tall tolled bridge connecting EB 71 to the new 183 main lanes. Crane is for that bridge.



Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5945  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2018, 8:48 AM
KevinFromTexas's Avatar
KevinFromTexas KevinFromTexas is offline
Meh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: there and back again
Posts: 57,324
__________________
Donate to Donald Trump's campaign today!

Thou shall not indict
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5946  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2018, 6:34 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas View Post
Link isn't working for me. On an unrelated note: It's 2018, this city of Austin employee should know not to put spaces in file names.


In other news, the 2018 bond advisory group suggested 180 million in transit spending. 20 Million will go for sidewalks with the vast majority of it being distributed based on needs unless Ora Houston finds a way to mess it up like she did in 2016. Most of the projects are for fixing crumbling infrastructure. 2020 is seen as the new project bond year.

http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=293618



The new cap metro CEO was interviewed by the Statesman. I think he's a really great pick. It's his job to manage expectations but I like how he seems to commit to autonomous electric vehicles even if we can't afford LRT.

https://www.mystatesman.com/news/how...49gYyuO2aOilL/



CapMetro is redesigning the interiors of the Redline Trains to comply with federal safety requirements that will allow them to run Freight during the day at the same time as their commuter trains which is increased revenue they say can go into future improvements of the line.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5947  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2018, 6:51 PM
Novacek Novacek is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,506
Quote:
Originally Posted by freerover View Post
In other news, the 2018 bond advisory group suggested 180 million in transit spending.
Transportation spending, almost none for transit (nitpick).


Quote:
Originally Posted by freerover View Post
CapMetro is redesigning the interiors of the Redline Trains to comply with federal safety requirements that will allow them to run Freight during the day at the same time as their commuter trains which is increased revenue they say can go into future improvements of the line.
I don't believe it will actually run at the same time (in the 32 mile corridor). though I'd welcome another source.

I believe this upgrade will make it so that they don't need to wait for hours in between a freight run and passenger run (and vice versa).
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5948  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2018, 6:53 PM
Novacek Novacek is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,506
Small detail from the next CapMetro meeting.

They're putting $3M (1 per year for the next 3 years) into signal improvements done by the city.

Perhaps more importantly, they're starting a joint "Transit Speed and Reliability Working Group" with the city.

https://www.capmetro.org/uploadedFil...nda-Packet.pdf
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5949  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2018, 6:55 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novacek View Post
I don't believe it will actually run at the same time (in the 32 mile corridor). though I'd welcome another source.

I believe this upgrade will make it so that they don't need to wait for hours in between a freight run and passenger run (and vice versa).
https://www.capmetro.org/railcarimprovements/

"By improving the interior of our rail cars to comply with Federal Rail Administration regulations, we will be able to run freight and passenger rail at the same time... Capital Metro's goal is to have the ability in the future to operate both services throughout the day in order to meet the demands of our customers (both passenger and freight) "
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5950  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2018, 7:19 PM
Novacek Novacek is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,506
Quote:
Originally Posted by freerover View Post
https://www.capmetro.org/railcarimprovements/

"By improving the interior of our rail cars to comply with Federal Rail Administration regulations, we will be able to run freight and passenger rail at the same time... Capital Metro's goal is to have the ability in the future to operate both services throughout the day in order to meet the demands of our customers (both passenger and freight) "
Thanks

That really surprises me though, that with non-double tracked and limited sidings, and slow freight trains (that would take over an hour to travel through the corridor) that they'd run at the same time in the passenger corridor.

Or maybe they mean this is necessary but not sufficient, that they still need full double tracking to do that (in the future).

Or "at the same time" means passenger service in the passenger corridor, and freight at the same time west of Leander and on the green line.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5951  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2018, 9:38 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novacek View Post
Thanks

That really surprises me though, that with non-double tracked and limited sidings, and slow freight trains (that would take over an hour to travel through the corridor) that they'd run at the same time in the passenger corridor.

Or maybe they mean this is necessary but not sufficient, that they still need full double tracking to do that (in the future).

Or "at the same time" means passenger service in the passenger corridor, and freight at the same time west of Leander and on the green line.
Yea it's surprising. It would require a very dependable and timed system so you don't have trains parked at stations waiting for the freight to pass them.

in terms of a complete double track, do you think they can just lay down a 2nd track next to the current one? The track seems centered in a relatively narrow ROW for a lot of the route. I wonder if they'll have to build 2 new tracks along the edges of the ROW.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5952  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2018, 10:11 PM
Novacek Novacek is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,506
Quote:
Originally Posted by freerover View Post
Yea it's surprising. It would require a very dependable and timed system so you don't have trains parked at stations waiting for the freight to pass them.

in terms of a complete double track, do you think they can just lay down a 2nd track next to the current one? The track seems centered in a relatively narrow ROW for a lot of the route. I wonder if they'll have to build 2 new tracks along the edges of the ROW.
There's sections of wide RoW where I'm guessing they can do that. There was even talk of triple-tracking out nearer Leander.

There's other sections where it's really narrow, and I'm guessing they need to relocate the existing track towards the edge. Though we might be lucky in that many of those narrow sections are where they're putting the bypasses sidings right now. (and they're paying much of the price in the current budget and current delays).

The best description of the RoW I've seen is actually in the trail study from a decade ago.
https://www.capmetro.org/uploadedFil...l%20report.pdf
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5953  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2018, 10:13 PM
AusTxDevelopment AusTxDevelopment is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 808
The Intersections Of Austin

Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5954  
Old Posted Mar 8, 2018, 3:50 PM
electricron's Avatar
electricron electricron is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Granbury, Texas
Posts: 3,523
Lightbulb

Quote:
Originally Posted by Novacek View Post
Thanks

That really surprises me though, that with non-double tracked and limited sidings, and slow freight trains (that would take over an hour to travel through the corridor) that they'd run at the same time in the passenger corridor.

Or maybe they mean this is necessary but not sufficient, that they still need full double tracking to do that (in the future).

Or "at the same time" means passenger service in the passenger corridor, and freight at the same time west of Leander and on the green line.
Is double tracking the entire corridor really needed? I don't think so.
I'm pretty sure they will be able to squeeze in a slow freight train when the passenger train frequencies halve - during mid-day between the morning and evening peaks.

Simple explanation follows:
P = Passenger train, F = Freight trains
P P P P P P P (15 minute headways) vs P F P F P F P (30 minute headways)

As for the slower speeds of the freight trains, it's not maximum speeds that counts when considering traveling over the entire corridor, it's average speeds that counts. Faster passenger trains making frequent stops to alight and board passengers at every station along the way average slower speeds than slower freight trains that aren't stopping along the way.

Explanation follows:
The rail corridor from Leander to downtown Austin is 32 miles in length. Let's simplify it somewhat to make the math easier to 30 miles....
A train going a steady 30 mph (freight train speed) will take an hour to go 30 miles.
A passenger train averaging 30 mph while speeding up to 60 mph and slowing down to a complete stop at stations will take the same hour to go the same 30 miles.
So what is the average speed of Capital Metrorail Red Line trains?
Using Wiki for data: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_MetroRail
Here's the math = 32 miles / 62 minutes x 60 minutes / hour = 30.96 mph
The passenger trains may reach a maximum speed of 60 mph or even 79 mph, but they only average approximately 31 mph over those 32 miles.

Therefore, I suggest they will not need to double track the entire corridor. They wouldn't need freight train long passing sidings either because the existing passenger train long passing sidings will do as long as two freight trains don't meet. If you want two freight trains to meet , you'll only need one freight train long passing sidings so they can meet about half way along the corridor. Scheduling all the trains to a schedule solves all the other meets.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5955  
Old Posted Mar 8, 2018, 10:39 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
The problems with single rail is a delay with 1 train 1 station can have ripple effects on the entire system that last the whole day. The system is a mess right now because the trains have to slow down near the current passing rail construction and it has led to repeated delays.

It also limits the amount of stations you can have because station stops cause additional slow downs and obvious stops which increase the waiting time for the train that is coming in the opposite direction.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5956  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2018, 7:39 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
A ton of items of action are on next week's council meeting to put the 2016 transit bond in action. It's basically approving the corridor construction plan that was revealed last month.

I assume that the segments listed in the items are 1st in line for construction.

-Endorsement of Corridor Construction Program including directive to actively seek leveraging other funding opportunities and partnerships to finish paying the damn thing
-26 Million in Improvements for Burnet from 183 to Mopac
-26 Million in Improvements for Airport Blvd between 183 and MLK
-8 Million in Improvements on FM 969/MLK from 183 to Decker
-78 Million in Improvements on N. Lamar from 183 to Howard Ln
-36 Million in Improvements on S. Lamar from West Riverside to US 290
-1 mil for design work for Y at Oak Hill to Barton Creek Trail
-12 Million in Engineering Services for corridor project
-75 million for 11other firms for corridor project
-Add 5 full time positions to help manage the project and get it done in time
-Procedural items allocating the money into active budget to be spent for construction based on the approved bonds
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5957  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2018, 8:28 PM
Novacek Novacek is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,506
There's some Red Line station info in the latest soccer story

https://www.mystatesman.com/news/loc...LHWhh0dwMWsvJ/

Ben Wear claims there was grant involved (which exactly doesn't match the info in CapMetro's budget, I'm still trying to track down more info on that).

Could explain why the Broodmoor rezoning has been stuck in a limbo of traffic analysis.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5958  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2018, 8:39 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novacek View Post
There's some Red Line station info in the latest soccer story

https://www.mystatesman.com/news/loc...LHWhh0dwMWsvJ/

Ben Wear claims there was grant involved (which exactly doesn't match the info in CapMetro's budget, I'm still trying to track down more info on that).

Could explain why the Broodmoor rezoning has been stuck in a limbo of traffic analysis.
It was a Tiger application that they didn't get. Most of the money went to rural highways. Pretty interesting takeaways.

For those who can't read the article:
Rail Station at the soccer site would cost 13 million
Rail Station at Brodmore would cost about 17 million and about 8 million of that has been promised by area developers. Cap Metro tried to get federal grant for the rest but failed.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5959  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2018, 9:24 PM
Novacek Novacek is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,506
Quote:
Originally Posted by freerover View Post
It was a Tiger application that they didn't get. Most of the money went to rural highways. Pretty interesting takeaways.

For those who can't read the article:
Rail Station at the soccer site would cost 13 million
Rail Station at Brodmore would cost about 17 million and about 8 million of that has been promised by area developers. Cap Metro tried to get federal grant for the rest but failed.
The CapMetro budget for 2018, page A-25:
https://www.capmetro.org/uploadedFil...ved-Budget.pdf

For the Kramer station relocation, it lists the cost as 12.6M. It doesn't list Broadmoor by name, but with the description of "direct access to the Domain", it seems like it would have to be that one, not a McKalla relocation.

Could be a scope/price inflation?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5960  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2018, 9:29 PM
freerover freerover is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 2,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novacek View Post
The CapMetro budget for 2018, page A-25:
https://www.capmetro.org/uploadedFil...ved-Budget.pdf

For the Kramer station relocation, it lists the cost as 12.6M. It doesn't list Broadmoor by name, but with the description of "direct access to the Domain", it seems like it would have to be that one, not a McKalla relocation.

Could be a scope/price inflation?
Maybe %25 contingency bump.
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > United States > Texas & Southcentral > Austin
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:46 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.