Eighteen months after Travis County voters approved a tax increase to fund expanded child care, the county is cutting checks.

The update: On May 5, the Travis County Commissioners Court approved $17.65 million in contracts with 13 community partners—including United Way for Greater Austin, Pflugerville ISD and Latinitas—to fund after-school and summer programming for more than 5,200 children and business support for 180 child care providers.

The backstory: The vote fulfills a promise made when voters passed Proposition A in November 2024, building on two decades of local advocacy. Since then, the county has funded child care scholarships for 1,000 children, enrolled more than 2,650 students in out-of-school time programs and distributed $2.6 million in gap funding to 150 providers.

What's next: A child care workforce crisis—marked by chronic understaffing, high turnover, and a shortage of qualified applicants—remains a long-term challenge. The county plans to release a full draft plan with projections through 2033 at a virtual town hall June 16.

Spark Root Development broke ground on one of its newest projects in East Austin in April, near the 200-acre Colony Park community. 

What you need to know: The developer broke ground on the 152,000-square-foot development April 23. Per a press release from broker ECR, this is one of the largest commercial projects to break ground east of US 183.

The details: The Collective East, a development planned for commercial services such as retail, workshop, office and warehouse, will bring open-plan layouts, 20-foot ceilings, as well as garage doors and mezzanine levels in some suites. 

A planned consolidation of city technology workers is moving forward after weeks of pushback from some affected employees.

Updates to Austin's technology processes are among several government efficiency and cost-cutting efforts underway at City Hall. The plan initiated last year would eventually reorganize hundreds of information technology staff across all city departments under the roof of Austin Technology Services, or ATS.

The "One ATS" process is supported by city management based on findings from consultants, who reported Austin's IT spending is out of line with peers and that a centralized model could improve city systems. But it's been opposed by many impacted employees and their union due to concerns about public services and safety.

Some City Council members agreed and were readying to advance a formal request to halt the ATS reorganization this month. That measure was withdrawn after a recent public review and based on new assurances about the program from City Manager T.C. Broadnax.

Check out the latest Austin metro transportation updates. 

Ongoing projects
Oak Hill Parkway
Project: The Texas Department of Transportation is currently reconstructing 7 miles of Hwy. 290 in Oak Hill, transforming the existing four-lane, undivided roadway to a six-lane divided highway with new frontage roads and 14 miles of shared-use paths.
Update: As early as mid-May, the Hwy. 290 and SH 71 flyovers will open. The Convict Hill cross-street bridge opened in April.

• Timeline: 2022-26

• Cost: $677 million

• Funding source: TxDOT

Completed projects
Gattis School Road Segment 3
Project: The city of Round Rock is expanding Gattis School Road—from A.W. Grimes Boulevard to Double Creek Drive—into a six-lane divided roadway, and adding pedestrian improvements, bicycle enhancements and right- and left-turn bays with new traffic signals to A.W. Grimes and Double Creek.
Update: Construction on segment 3 of the road was completed in May. Construction on segment 6 is still ongoing and expected to be complete by late 2027.

• Timeline: 2024-27

• Cost: $26 million (segment 3)

• Funding source: type B sales tax revenue (segment 3)