Council wants more research done on South MoPac project

In an effort to alleviate congested traffic, South MoPac may look very different in the future.

But it's a project the City of Austin is not fully behind yet.

Thursday night, city council voted in favor of taking a step back and looking at some research first.

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization along with the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority has proposed adding two toll lanes in each direction between Cesar Chavez and Slaughter.

They'll be elevated lanes above Lady Bird Lake and Zilker Park.

Some who live in the area are concerned the project will hurt the environment and the integrity of the lake.

Council member Kathie Tovo wishes the project would stick to one lane in each direction and continue to study the impact.

"I have very grave concerns I would say personally about the idea of 4 elevated lanes going over our lake and so...but I do support the position that we've taken to encourage the study, to encourage the exploration of alternatives," Tovo said.

"If you have 2 lanes you're going to have more capacity for the demand and the price of your trip is going to be less because you're going to have more capacity," said Mike Heiligenstein, the Executive Director of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority.

The CAMPO policy board will be voting on this plan on Monday.