04-1: Chapter 26 East Ave Presentation — original pdf
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CHAPTER 26 APPLICATION IH-35 CAPITAL EXPRESS CENTRAL IMPROVEMENTS REQUESTED PARKLAND DECLARATIONS OF USE Waller Beach at Town Lake Metro Park (East Avenue) Austin Parks & Recreation Board | October 2026 Mark Stanko, Project Manager, WSP Kevin Koeller, P.E. A D N E G A 1. Project Summary 2. Project Objectives 3. Stakeholder Engagement • Bi-weekly meetings • On-site meeting • Public Involvement (PI) interagency meeting • Community engagement • Verify environmental clearance and process 4. Parkland Declaration of Use Summary 5. Waller Beach at Town Lake Metro Park (East Avenue) 15” Wastewater Line Declaration of Use • • Subterranean 15” Wastewater Line Declaration of Use • Temporary Construction Declaration of Use 6. Summary of Requested Parkland Declaration of Use WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 2 Project summary • The Capital Expressway Austin Water Standalone Utility Project (CAPEX-AWS) requires relocation of over 45,000 linear feet of water and wastewater utilities to mitigate conflicts with the proposed improvements to IH-35 by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). • These relocations are primarily in City of Austin right-of-way (ROW) but some work in private land and parkland is required. WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 Proposed Water and Wastewater lines for the CAPEX AWS project. 3 Project Objectives • Improve safety and mobility in Austin • Provide Austin Water customers with a reliable water and wastewater system that is accessible • Relocate water and wastewater lines impacted by proposed IH-35 CapEx Project WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 4 3. Stakeholder Engagement Meetings held to date: ▪ Bi-weekly meetings since June 2026 between TxDOT, Austin Parks and Recreation (APR), Forestry, Austin Water (AW), and other City departments. ▪ An on-site meeting with APR, AW, and TxDOT for the East Avenue Declaration of Use areas on May 29, 2026. ▪ A coordination meeting with APR and Local Parks Stewardship Coordinator from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) to confirm Section 6(f) requirements on May 29, 2026. ▪ A PI interagency meeting on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, with APR, AW and TxDOT. ▪ Public Involvement (PI) interagency meeting on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with APR, AW, and TxDOT. WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 5 Summary of stakeholder engagement efforts East Avenue stakeholder engagement – June 2026 Onward: • AW and TxDOT has engaged with stakeholders in and around the East Avenue area through phone calls and email correspondence, including The Trail Conservancy, Towers of Town Lake, East Cesar Chavez Neighborhood Association, Downtown Austin Alliance, Holly Neighborhood Association, the Holiday Inn and other nearby properties. These conversations have provided opportunities to share information about the project, discuss upcoming work and address questions and concerns from those directly affected by the work. Environmental Evaluation for work outside of the State’s right-of-way (ROW) – June 2026 Onward: • Confirmed with TPWD to ensure the project met the Section 6(f) requirements. • National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 evaluation ongoing, anticipates the process to be complete by end of 2026. Currently the team is preparing the Project Coordination Request (PCR) for TxDOT and AW's review. Following completion of this phase, the second step will be contacting the preservation groups for concurrence. WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 6 Parkland Declaration of Use Summary City of Austin parkland is required at the following location: Waller Beach at Town Lake Metro Park (East Avenue) Declaration of Use Request Area (sq. ft.) Permanent Wastewater Line (WWL) Subterranean WWL Temporary Construction 5,980 1,495 3,590 WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 Proposed 15” Wastewater Line Towers of Town Lake t e e r t S s o c r a M n a S Parkland Parkland Holiday Inn Proposed 15” WW line required to take flows to East Avenue Existing 48” WWL crossing of IH-35 in conflict with CapEx project. 8 Waller Beach at Town Lake Metro Park East Avenue Reasons for this site selection: • Some work is required in this park regardless of option selected due to presence of existing wastewater services • Majority of work is in open space with minimal recreational impact • Avoids impacts on access and use of private properties Declaration of Use Request Area (sq. ft.) Permanent Wastewater Line (WWL) Subterranean WWL Temporary Construction 5,980 1,495 3,590 9 Waller Beach at Town Lake Metro Park East Avenue Work in Parkland • Installation of shallow, 12-15” diameter wastewater lines to redirect wastewater flows from existing properties at two locations due to the IH-35 improvements • Open trench installation in the open grassed area. • Trenchless installation >10’ below the trees to the eastern side • No tree removal is required • Grass area to be restored to equal or better condition • Install two new manholes but only the lids will be visible within the park property. The lids will be flush with the finished ground surface WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 10 ALTERNATIVES WASTEWATER ALIGNMENTS WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | August 2026 11 Wastewater Services • Existing 48” wastewater line picks up wastewater flows from Towers of Town Lake, Holiday Inn and Town Lake Lofts • The existing 48” will be abandoned due to conflicts with drainage upgrades for CapEx IH-35 • Wastewater flows from those properties needs to be diverted into the new wastewater tunnel on East Avenue. WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 12 Options to avoid parkland use • Options to convey wastewater flow from the Towers of Town Lake without use of parkland would involve long lengths of pipe within private property or in the existing Public Utility Easement (PUE). • The options through the property were not take forward due to: • disruption to property use, parking and access • more challenging maintenance access • unknown underground conditions within private property Towers of Town Lake WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 Indicative wastewater route options Existing PUE Wastewater Service Connection 13 Tower of Town Lakes Wastewater Routing through PUE Tower of Town Lake’s wastewater service Existing Gas Existing Electric Legend Existing Comms/ Fiber Optic Existing Wastewater • Options to redirect the wastewater service within the existing PUE were found unviable due to utility congestion with 6 fiber cables, gas, electric and water all occupying a public utility easement between the building and southern perimeter with the park. • Repurposing the 48” wastewater main not possible due to the reduction in flows creating maintenance issues, the age (>70 years) of the pipe and close proximity to structure. 14 East Avenue Park — Alternative 1 Install a wastewater line within City and TxDOT right- of-ways in San Marcos Street, IH-35 Frontage and Lambie Street. Reasons not selected: • Presence of an existing 8” waterline and a proposed 24” waterline within TxDOT right-of-way between San Marcos Street and Lambie Street. There would be insufficient space to comply with drinking water regulations. • A wastewater line in parkland would still be required to pick up the Towers of Town Lakes’ wastewater service. Legend Existing WWL - WW Service - Proposed WWL - Alternative WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 Existing or proposed water line 15 East Avenue Park — Alternative 2 Install a wastewater line through the private Towers of Townlake apartment complex property. The route would follow the access road for this property and block access to it’s parking garage during construction and maintenance. Reasons not selected : • Would likely still require use of parkland to pickup Town Lakes WW. • Route is unviable due to significant negative impact on access to and use of large apartment complex Legend Existing WWL - WW Service - Proposed WWL - Alternatives WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 Existing or proposed water line WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 16 East Avenue Park — Alternative 3 Install a wastewater line south from San Marcos Street through private property to East Avenue. A wastewater line in parkland would still be required to pick up the Town Lakes wastewater service. The service cannot go within Town Lakes property due to existing utility congestion. Reasons not selected: • Significantly longer wastewater line which introduces maintenance issues Legend Existing WWL - WW Service - Proposed WWL - Alternatives 17 SUMMARY OF REQUESTED PARKLAND DECLARATION OF USE WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 18 CHAPTER 26 OF THE PARKS AND WILDLIFE CODE (PWC) DUE DILIGENCE FOR UTILITY ASSIGNMENT Section 26.001 A department may not approve any project that requires the use of any public land designated as a park unless the department, acting through its duly authorized governing body or officer, determines that: East Avenue 1. There is no feasible and prudent alternative to the use or Confirmed taking of such land 2. The program or project includes all reasonable planning to minimize harm to the land, as a park, recreation area, scientific area, wildlife refuge, or historic site, resulting from the use or taking Confirmed SUMMARY OF REQUESTED ACTION Austin Water requests a recommendation to City Council for approval of: • Permanent use of 7,475 sq. ft. of parkland at Waller Beach at Town Lake Metro Park (East Avenue) • Temporary Work Area Use of 3,590 sq. ft. of parkland Waller Beach at Town Lake Metro Park (East Avenue) not to exceed calendar 156 days Total mitigation to be paid by Austin Water is $1,055,440 PROJECT COORDINATION & PARTNER SUPPORT During construction: • Coordination with APR regarding park events and traffic control • Tree protection and coordination with APR for heritage trees adjacent to and within the easements NEXT STEPS WALLER BEACH AT TOWN LAKE METRO PARK EAST AVENUE May 2030: • Estimated construction start for wastewater main relocation October 2030: • Estimated construction end and park open to the public PROJECT TEAM Managing Engineer Kevin Koeller, P.E. P: 512.972.2055 | E: kevin.koeller@austintexas.gov Project Sponsor Mueen Chowdhury, P.E. P: 512.972.0209 | E: mueen.chowdhury@austintexas.gov Project Design Manager Mark Stanko, PMP P: 214.893.4121 | E: mark.stanko@wsp.com THANK YOU WSP | CAPEX Chapter 26 Application | October 2026 wsp.com 24