Veronica Ramirez

Whether you're commuting to Texas State from Austin, or driving to Austin for a night out, in all likelihood you've encountered the mess that I-35 traffic can cause. State officials are exploring options to ease the congestion. Veronica Ramirez has more in this Bobcat Update.

The Texas Transportation Commission approved a measure last week that will offer truck drivers a discount to avoid I-35 and take State Highway One-30 instead.
The discount is seen as a way to encourage truck drivers to use the toll road rather than I-35 and thereby alleviate traffic and decrease accidents between Austin and San Marcos.
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Currently truck drivers pay 50 dollars for a full trip from S-H One-30 to toll 45, which connects Georgetown to Buda. But, starting later this month, big rigs with four axles or more will receive a 33 percent discount to drive on the toll road. The discount will increase in November to 67 percent for Tex-Tag customers. The heavy traffic on I-35 affects Texas State students who commute from the Austin area. Some say they have to leave early to make it to class on time.
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One student says the discount makes sense if it reduces the volume of traffic on I-35, but it's still too expensive.
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Phase one of the law starts on April 18th and will be in effect from 7 a-m to 7 p-m weekdays.
(Stand Up) Additionally, a report will be presented next year when the commission meets again that will include the impact of the discounts on traffic. For Bobcat Update, I'm Veronica Ramirez.