Circuit of the Americas Expansion

The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a motor racing and facilities track located in southeast Austin, approximately fifteen miles outside of downtown. The facility currently hosts the Formula 1 Grand Prix race, the MotoGP event, the FIA World Rallycross race, and fifteen to twenty-five events per year at the Austin360 Amphitheater, all while offering year-round go-karting, COTA tours, dining at the Velocity Lounge, and various catered special events such as meetings, conferences, festivals, and other entertainment events. However, the current master plan has plans for the facility to be almost quadrupled in size with a large increase in daily trip generation. 

WGI completed the transportation and traffic analysis for this proposed expansion that incorporates a “Great Wolf Lodge”-style resort, a 10,000-seat, and a 40,000-seat stadium/arena, a 500-room hotel with office space, 11 soccer/rugby fields, an indoor sports facility, an e-sports arena, additional retail and restaurant development, and other facilities to support the existing uses of COTA. Project impacts on the study area roadway facilities were determined by measuring the effects project traffic would have on intersection operations during the weekday morning (7:00 to 9:00 AM) and weekday evening (4:00 to 6:00 PM) peak periods when traffic volumes on the surrounding roadways are highest. A total of twenty-two external intersections were selected in consultation with City and County staff as study locations. 

With the substantial increase in traffic to be expected from the proposed land uses, significant mitigations were required to accommodate the new traffic. Planning documents and Capital Improvement Projects were taken into account when considering feasible solutions for the surrounding area; meetings with the City of Austin, Travis County, and TxDOT were held to coordinate all proposed improvements. 

In addition to predicting and mitigating the daily traffic, traffic management plans (TMPs) were reviewed as part of the analysis. These plans are put in place during large events such as Formula 1, MotoGP, and concerts; each plan has an attendance range to determine which plan should be used for which event. The plans include proposed roadway closures, enforcement staff’s location, the conversion of shoulders into travel lanes, contra-flow lanes/roadways, and other various traffic management techniques.