AUSTIN, Texas — Construction on MoPac is delayed because of some environmental issues.
Crews discovered cave-like formations in the limestone known as karst features near MoPac and La Crosse Avenue that could cause trouble.
The Texas Department of Transportation is building underpasses at Slaughter Lane and La Crosse Avenue in South Austin.
TxDOT has encountered 72 of these features since construction started at La Crosse and Slaughter Lane. At La Crosse, 25 karst features were found.
This has delayed the intersection's construction a few months. The expected finish date to the construction at La Crosse and MoPac has moved to the end of the year.
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“It’s part of the plumbing of the Edwards Aquifer,” said Charles Woodruff, a geologist and senior lecturer at the University of Texas' Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering.
Woodruff said the karst features are important to the Edwards Aquifer, which provides drinking water for some people.
“Down south of Slaughter Lane, people in the area around Manchaca, San Leanna get their water from it," he said.
The Save Our Springs Alliance has sued TxDOT in federal court regarding the construction in the environmentally sensitive area.
"The caves that are known in this area, when sediment or pollution gets into those caves, it only takes 30 hours for the water underneath the ground to travel to Barton Springs," said Bobby Levinski, an attorney with the alliance. "So it's not a great location to do excavation, such as what this project envisioned."
The alliance said a judgment on their lawsuit is expected any day.
In the meantime, TxDOT said it is spending about $600,000 to mitigate the delays from the holes.
The department said it is working with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the City of Austin and the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District to "evaluate and put mitigation plans together so that we can continue building the MoPac main lanes under La Crosse Avenue while protecting the aquifer."
The department told KVUE that even though bridge construction at La Crosse Avenue is delayed, the overall project is still on schedule.
TxDOT adds that there are no plans to change the layout of road.
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