Texas State Highway 130

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This article contains information about a planned or expected future road. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

State Highway 130
Length:	37.4 mi[1] (60.2 km)
Formed:	1985
South end:	SH 71
Major junctions:	US 290 US 79
North end:	I-35
Highways in Texas < SH 128 SH 131 >

State Highway 130, also known as SH 130 and Pickle Parkway, is a new tollway under construction in a 89-mile corridor east of Austin, Texas. It parallels Interstate 35 (I-35) and is intended to relieve the Interstate's traffic volume through the Austin-San Antonio corridor by serving as an alternate route. The northern terminus of State Highway 130 is I-35 north of Georgetown. Its southern terminus is Interstate 10 near Seguin.

The highway was developed in response to the tremendous surge in truck traffic on the I-35 corridor brought on by the North American Free Trade Agreement during the late 1990s, especially truck traffic originating from Laredo, where the Texas Department of Transportation reported 150 trucks entering the United States every hour. A proponent of the highway's development, Capital Area Transportation Coalition, said that congestion along the I-35 corridor is costing businesses more than $194 million a year in higher operating costs and lost productivity.

State Highway 130 will initially be a four-lane highway, quickly expandable to six lanes.

Contents 1 History 2 Route description 3 Exit list 4 External links 5 References

[edit] History

In June 2002, Lone Star Infrastructure, a consortium of major highway construction contractors and civil engineering firms, was awarded a Comprehensive Development Agreement by the Texas Department of Transportation to design and build the section from I-35 in Georgetown to US 183 southeast of Austin.^[2] The cost of this section was expected to be $1.5 billion, a figure which includes utility relocation, right of way, design and construction. Right-of-way costs alone were estimated at $389 million.

Groundbreaking for SH 130 took place on October 3, 2003. The first segment of SH 130 to open to the public was from US 290 northward to US 79 on November 1, 2006. About a month later on December 13, the highway was extended northward to a junction with Interstate 35. On September 6, 2007, the route was extended southward from US 290 to State Highway 71. Segment 4 opened on April 30, 2008. This 8.7 mile segment runs from SH 71 to US 183.^[3]

On June 28, 2006, Cintra-Zachry, the Trans-Texas Corridor developer, reached a $1.3 billion agreement with the state to build segments 5 and 6 from US 183 to I-10 in Seguin. In exchange for their investment, Cintra-Zachry will receive the right to collect tolls for 50 years in a revenue sharing agreement with the state. The state will own the road while the developer will be responsible for financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance over the life of the agreement.^[4]

The 2007 session of the Texas Legislature passed HB 2296, designating SH 130 in Williamson, Travis, Caldwell and Guadalupe Counties as the "Pickle Parkway" in honor of former United States Congressman J.J. "Jake" Pickle.^[5]

[edit] Route description

SH 130 begins at I-35 north of Georgetown in Williamson County. The freeway heads south from the interchange with I-35 and bypasses to the east of the Georgetown city limits. It continues to the southeast to a junction with SH 29 and begins to take a more southerly course at the interchange with US 79. The freeway continues to the south and curves to the southwest as it approaches the interchange with SH 45. The highway continues heading south, passing to the east of the Austin city limits. It reaches an interchange with US 290 west of Manor before heading curving to the southeast to pass around Walter E. Long Municipal Park. It turns back to the southwest once it has passed the park. It reaches its current southern terminus at US 183 in Mustang Ridge.^[6]

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	#	Destinations	Notes
Williamson			I-35 north / SH 195 north – Waco, Florence, Killeen	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		411	I-35 south – Austin	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Georgetown	413	FM 971 – Granger	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		415	SH 29 – Georgetown
		417	CR 104
		419	University Boulevard
		421	CR 109	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		423	US 79 – Taylor, Round Rock
		425	FM 685 / Gattis School Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Travis		426	FM 685 north / Gattis School Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		428A	FM 685 south / Kelly Lane
		428B	SH 45 west – Round Rock	North end of SH 45 overlap
		429	Pfluger Lane	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		431	Pecan Street
		432	Cameron Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		435	Gregg Manor Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Austin	436	FM 734 (Parmer Lane)
		437	US 290 – Houston, Austin
		439	Blue Bluff Road	No northbound exit
	Austin	441	FM 973
		444	FM 969
		446	Harold Green Road
			SH 71

[edit] External links

• State Highway 130 project - official page
• Central Texas Turnpike - official page
• State Highway 130 Concession Company, LLC, developers of SH 130 segments 5 and 6.
• Anti-130 page (BicycleAustin.info)

[edit] References