Sexton pointed out to the Board that $400,000 is in case human remains are discovered during excavation and installation. “Due to the nature of the work, which was only defined as ‘trees’ during the development of the contract, there will be differences in cost estimates when progressing from the planning stage and final design stage,” the spokesperson said. The agency spokesperson explained in an email to KXAN investigators that the cost is from the original estimate.
30 said the budget for the small trees is $46,267, which includes, among other things, design of the landscaping, planting, the installation of an irrigation system, inspection of the work, replacing any of the trees that don’t survive the first two years and paying for the water for three years along with maintenance and repairs. The Memorandum Of Agreement all parties involved signed Aug. “One of the things that I’m very proud of at CTRMA -that the agency has done all along - is we don’t just slap down a road and make it a toll lane, right? We do so many things that really enhance the experience for the users and for the community around that roadway.”
It really is to put a buffer and in some level - a sound between the increased traffic, an- and it is - it is our responsibility,” explained CTRMA Board Chairman and well-known Austin businessman Bobby Jenkins during an interview. “There’s more to it than just adding greenery and making it aesthetically pleasing. The board members had been informed about the item and its price tag the Friday before the meeting - giving them five days to consider it before voting.Ī sound wall was supposed to be constructed between Austin Memorial Park Cemetery and MoPac but instead small trees will be planted now. But we need to have opportunity that issues do arise during construction that we can continue to move it forward.” “I believe - our guesstimate on actual costs total all in is closer to $500-to-$600,000. That includes, I’ll say, a significant amount of contingency related to the excavation that’s going to occur on site,” Sexton said. The total project or budgeted cost we’re estimating is a million dollars. “The trees themselves are significantly less.
Damn!” exclaimed CTRMA Board Member John Langmore during the meeting. “And we’re bearing all the costs of that - not the city, not TxDOT?” “Wow! A million dollars to plant those trees. Sexton explained to the board that 55 15-gallon mountain laurels, native to Central Texas, would be planted along the already existing retaining wall with an irrigation system. “So as you’re elevated - through there we’ll be adding in those mountain laurels to break up the sight lines coming from the cemetery side.” But, that’s essentially the wall that is the exit ramp for 2222,” said Mike Sexton, CTRMA’s Acting Director of Engineering. You’re elevated as you drive through that section. “If you’ve driven out there, you may not notice the cemetery. The small trees are native to Central Texas. When they found out about the MoPac Improvement Project in 2012, Blythe said they had to get involved given how close the construction was to the cemetery. The group helped designate this resting place as a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2008. “We came together to try to continue to advocate for the cemetery and the boundaries of the cemetery so that we wouldn’t have constant encroachment efforts,” she said as cars roared by and a nearby train drowned out her voice. For decades, the cemetery has been tucked away in the shadows of the MoPac Expressway.īlythe has made it her mission to protect the cemetery from the traffic and construction. She’s part of Austin RAMP, or Rescue Austin Memorial Park Cemetery. “Became involved with a cemetery in 1989, when my husband passed away, and we buried him out here,” Blythe explained.Ī breeze blew across the peaceful resting ground spanning more than 80 acres in northwest Austin. Austin Memorial Park Cemetery is a lawn cemetery in northwest Austin, near FM 2222 and MoPac Boulevard.A canopy of shade trees covered much of the burial area. Now, nearly a decade later, small trees and an irrigation system will be added instead, at a price tag some are questioning.ĪUSTIN (KXAN) - It was a quiet day at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery. Under federal law, the cemetery was supposed to get a sound wall during the construction of toll lanes on MoPac Expressway, but that never happened. A regional tollway authority will spend $1 million on 55 small, native Central Texas trees for Austin Memorial Park Cemetery.