Austin budgets highway money for road construction. When the money runs out, construction stops until the next budgeting cycle.
11 years ago I moved to San Antonio from Jersey. Last year I went back to Jersey and I saw the same barriers and construction project going on which started before I left. To put it into perspective, I have seen a 1/2 dozen major road construction projects completed in San Antonio in the last 2 years.
I do admit that we can be a bit spoiled when it comes to our roads.