Capital Metro

In the lead-up to a decisive vote on Austin's light-rail plan, council members are extracting finer details of the $5 billion build out.

Austin's light-rail ambitions face key approvals from local officials this week after a bill that would have toppled the Project Connect funding plan was killed. But political and legal risks remain for the voter-approved transit expansion.

The Austin Transit Partnership's board offers unanimous approval for the light-rail blueprint as a fight simmers at the Texas Legislature over a bill that could destabilize Project Connect's financial footing.

The agency is studying whether to build a road for testing autonomous vehicles on the MoKan Corridor, despite Austin's plans to start building the Northern Walnut Creek Trail there next year.

The plans, each under $5 billion, are starkly smaller than the original map presented to voters before the November 2020 election.

Bills with big name backing in the Texas House and Senate would force a citywide election if the Austin Transit Partnership wants to borrow money for construction of light-rail lines.

The cash infusion clears the way for two MetroRapid lines to begin running with an all-electric fleet of buses in 2025.

The Pleasant Valley and Expo Center lines were supposed to start running this summer with buses every 10 minutes.

Watkins started at the agency as a bus driver in 1994 and rose through the ranks.

The transit agency is renting 9,000-square-foot of office space on Cameron Road to serve as its first police station. The move to create a police force has drawn criticism.