Capital Metro has revealed the latest designs for a new downtown MetroRail station. Updates include three new railway tracks and five new trains, which will accommodate more traffic than the current station’s single track and train.
The station on East Fourth Street will be shifted one block east, to between the Convention Center and the Hilton. It will include a covered structure to shield waiting riders from sun and rain.
CapMetro says the new design is 90 percent finished and expected to be completed by April. The project will take about 30 months once it gets permitted.
“The construction schedule is based on making sure we keep businesses open during construction. … There’s certain times of the year we have to halt construction altogether,” said Project Manager Marcus Guerrero. “On top of that, Capital Metro will continue to run trains into downtown through the construction zone.”
The project will be paid for with $22 million from a Texas Department of Transportation grant, $14.4 from Cap Metro and $3 million from the city. Mariette Hummel, a spokesperson for Cap Metro, said project totals like these are fluid.
“It’ll really be able to provide folks with a different alternative to getting around the city,” Guerrero said. “Capital Metro will be able to move many more people in out of the downtown core for work, leisure or pleasure, so we’re really excited about it.”
Cap Metro is hosting an open house to showcase the new designs and other MetroRail redevelopment projects Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center.
Correction: This story initially misquoted Cap Metro saying the costs for this project were fluid, rather than the project as a whole.
