posted on February 25, 2011 00:29
The revised 2011 estimate to build the Waller Creek tunnel is $144 million, according to Austin officials speaking at the Travis County Commissioners Court.
The cost was estimated at $127.5 million in 2006, but inflation has since pushed the cost higher, according to the presentation this week (downloadable here).
The Waller Creek Tunnel Project seeks to reclaim about 28 acres from the floodplain downtown using an immense stormwater bypass running a mile from Waterloo Park near Brackenridge hospital to discharge at Lady Bird Lake.
The new plan calls for the city and county to have a joint Tax Increment Financing district to finance $106 million of the tunnel. The city plans to use interests from 1999 bond sales to finance $34 million, and is using $6.5 million from other sources.
The cost to redevelop the surface of Waller Creek, which has no current funding, is about $50 million, according to founders of the Waller Creek Conservancy.
2/2/11, Austin Business Journal, Jacob Dirr