AUSTIN, Texas — The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce held its annual Infrastructure Summit on Tuesday, discussing the challenges of rapid growth in Central Texas.

Between projects at the airport, convention center, and on I-35, there's no shortage of big infrastructure projects in our area.

"I don’t think I need to tell anyone in our city when I say a lot is happening,” HousingWorks Austin Executive Director Awais Azhar said.

Few are as anticipated as the light rail project, which was approved by voters in 2020. That was the topic of one of the many panel discussions where Austin Transit Partnership and others didn't just commit to expanding to the airport but creating affordable housing and job growth, too.

Infrastructure is the backbone of any community, which is why, for 16 years, the Austin Chamber of Commerce has brought lawmakers, city leaders, and others together to discuss the future of growth in Central Texas.

"These are the things which are essential to everyday life for everyone living in Austin," Jeremy Martin, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, said. "to share ideas, to give updates to what’s happening, and also making sure we’re talking about the things that matter.”

This year, Azhar spoke on a panel with Austin Transit Partnership about Austin Light Rail.

"We see it as economic development, as job growth, as housing opportunities," Azhar said. "All of those things people in our communities deserve and want.”

Central Texas's transportation management association is Movability. Director Lonny Stern didn't participate in the panel, but he did speak on the future of mobility in Austin, where light rail is just one small piece of the puzzle.

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"With the amount of infrastructure being built all at once over the next decade, it’s going to get harder and harder to move around. While at the same time we’re doubling in size.” Stern said.

Yet, Azhar says light rail is about so much more than mobility.

"That means creating more housing opportunities, more development opportunities that exist around train stations," Azhar said. "And also, at the same time, it’ll serve people by linking them to neighborhoods they want to be.”

In fact, the city of Austin announced Tuesday it's making $5 million in anti-displacement funding available, on top of $300 million of anti-displacement funding already baked into the program.

"We want to make sure that the folks who are there today get the benefit of this infrastructure project,” Azhar said.

With everything coming together all at once, Stern says it's an exciting time for Austinites.

"We’re a small town becoming a large city, and every single one of your viewers is a part of it," Stern said. "And it’s only going to get started with this first phase of light rail.”

Austin Transit Partnership also reiterated its commitment to eventually bringing light rail to the airport.

Right now, the program is in the middle of its environmental impact process, and then move on to the design phase. Azhar says light rail is on track to break ground in 2027.