Dear Editor,
Every student at Austin High knows the struggle of MoPac. The fruitless rush to your car at the end of the day to try and “beat” the traffic, the hours wasted with your foot on the brake pedal. Any reasonable person would jump at the opportunity to aid in this issue, and lucky for some, in November 2025, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) created the MoPac South Project. On paper, this $825 million plan to add more express lanes to South MoPac advertises itself as an exponential timesaver for residents, but environmentalist groups remain unconvinced.
In February of this year, CTRMA released their draft environmental impact statement, stating to the public the lesser of two evils: lessened congestion outweighs potential EPA concerns. An expansion such as this threatens the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, located directly underneath MoPac. Construction debris and vehicle emissions from this project would be directly shuttled into local waterways as well as Barton Springs, threatening the safety of the already endangered Barton Springs Blind Salamander. On top of its aquatic impact, smog from the expansion would be trapped like a haze over the Austin High campus. Poor air quality threatens the well-being of students who are currently encouraged by the administration to eat, learn, and work outdoors. Concerned research has found CTRMA’s proposal to only save commuters a total of 5 minutes in traffic, while shutting down much of MoPac for months of construction time. Because of this discrepancy, environmental advocates from the Save Our Springs Alliance (SOS) in Austin recently created the Better MoPac Coalition (BMC), a group that continues to stand in opposition to CTRMA’s proposal. I myself became involved with SOS back in October of 2025, which led me to become a volunteer with the BMC. Since mid-February, every Monday afternoon, I have tabled by the bridge under South MoPac by Austin High. We hope to receive emails and public comments from those concerned about the issue and those willing to speak up against environmental injustice.
On Tuesday, March 24th, CTRMA held a public hearing at Bowie High School in which residents were encouraged to ask questions and learn about the proposal. Around 150 advocates showed up to express their concerns about the project and deliver public comments to CTRMA directly. The public comment period runs from March 9th to May 3rd. Comments can also be submitted to [email protected] or via voicemail (no longer than 3 minutes) at 512-387-5811. Watchdog groups such as the Better MoPac Coalition hope to stop this plan in its tracks as we continue to search for an alternative solution. Traffic cannot be dealt with at the expense of our sensitive waterways.
Particularly, we encourage current Austin High students to get involved in any way they can. The proposed expansion directly threatens their commute, educational experience, and livelihood in Austin. If you are interested in learning more, follow BMC on Instagram @bettermopac or email Save Our Springs’ Volunteer Coordinator, Megan Wutzke at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Emily Lehrach (Senior)
