Environmental and transportation groups formed the Better MoPac Coalition to push back against the project.

AUSTIN, Texas — Southbound traffic on the MoPac Expressway has become a daily headache for many Austinites, with worsening congestion turning routine commutes into long, frustrating drives.

For longtime resident Corey Baum, the daily commute has taken a toll.

“It is ruining my life,” Baum said.

Ivan Mora said traffic has steadily deteriorated since he moved to Austin.

“Traffic’s been really bad,” Mora said. “I’ve lived here all my life, since 2008, and it’s only gotten worse.”

Drivers heading south currently have express lane entrances and exits near Cesar Chavez Street and Fifth Street. But farther down the highway, traffic often slows to a crawl, with long stretches of stop-and-go traffic.

Transportation officials have been trying to address the problem for years.

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is proposing a project known as “MoPac South,” which would add two new toll lanes in both directions between Cesar Chavez Street and Slaughter Lane.

Baum said expanding the roadway may be necessary to keep up with the city’s rapid growth, but he isn’t convinced about the extra toll lanes.

“It’s not fair for us Austinites to have to spend so much of our lives sitting around in cars just because the infrastructure hasn’t kept up,” Baum said. “But I’m skeptical about some of the solutions.”

The Mobility Authority recently released a public environmental assessment stating that the expansion would not have significant environmental impacts.

However, some environmental advocates disagree.

Bill Bunch, Executive Director of the Save Our Springs Alliance, said the report does not fully account for environmental risks during construction.

“The agency’s environmental document that’s out for public comment right now completely ignores the damage that would happen in five to seven years of construction, when there’s massive erosion and runoff problems from the construction project itself,” Bunch said.

On Thursday, the organization unveiled the “Better MoPac Coalition,” partnering with other environmental and transportation groups to oppose the proposed toll lane expansion.

Bunch said the toll agency should consider alternatives instead of focusing only on building the new lanes.

“Right now, they’re only looking at do this or do nothing,” Bunch said. “We could do a trial rush-hour high-occupancy vehicle lane in the center lanes that would only operate during rush hour. That would improve traffic flow.”

KVUE reached out to the Mobility Authority Thursday about the formation of the coalition.

In response, a spokesperson released the following statement:

“The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority respects the role that community organizations play in regional transportation discussions, and we welcome input from all interested stakeholders in the region.”

There will be a public hearing on March 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Bowie High School Cafeteria.

Public comment is currently open through the Mobility Authority’s website until May 3.

Boomtown is KVUE’s series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.