Core Report

Austin City Council members agreed Thursday to spend $1 million on a preliminary engineering study for the Austin urban rail plan.

The city signed a deal with local firm Austin Urban Rail Partners to complete the study. Officials hope to have the results in time for an expected vote on the rail plan next November.

The effort is part of the Austin mobility program, which aims to mitigate traffic.

The project is separate from the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s rail line and does not involved Cap Metro.

“If downtown and all the roads are full, then we have an economic issue in Austin,” Rob Spillar, Austin’s transportation director, has said.

The city will need at least some preliminary engineering results by spring to have a good chance at for a transportation bond on the November ballot.

Department officials are optimistic, but “we will not head into something we are not prepared for,” a spokeswoman has said, adding that bond issues are up to counsel discretion.

If officials decide more work needs to be done, it could be deferred to a May 2011 election.