News that Williamson County has almost $30 million in surplus bond money from the 2006 $228 million road bond has county officials reviewing its area road projects to-do list.
Leander and areas near the city captured seven of the 13 planned road projects in Precinct 2 that have committed financing and projected open-to-traffic dates by 2015.
Two projects that have been on the planning books for awhile have seen some recent movement, Williamson County Commissioner Cynthia Long said are CR 269/Hero Way and the Lakeline Boulevard extension.
Long said CR 269 should go out to bid by “early summer, at the latest.”
The design of the road was adjusted to include a de-acceleration lane from the 183A toll road.
“We’re adding in a few more safety features which pushes it back a few months,” Long said. “But it’s good for the long run.”
Hero Way, located within the heart of the planned Transit Oriented Development, will be a four-lane road with curbs and gutters that will connect U.S. 183 on the west to CR 269 on the east, just past toll road 183A. From U.S. 183, there will be a dedicated right turn lane from highway onto Hero Way.
Long said the construction price is about $5.5 million, adding land owners donated about 18 acres of land for road construction and paid for engineering plans.
The project is expected to be bid in June and take 10-12 months to complete, she said.
On the west side of the city, the extension of Lakeline Boulevard from Crystal Falls north to FM 2243 has long been envisioned by developers and road planners. However, some land owners are reluctant to give up their land for right of ways.
The county will build a two-lane road, Long said, and the city’s responsibility is to secure the right of ways, which are needed from several land owners.
Mayor John Cowman is leading the effort to secure the donation of land for the Lakeline Boulevard right of ways.
“We’re getting very close,” Cowman said. “But it’s not done yet.”
Another roadway planned that will relieve east-west traffic is San Gabriel Parkway.
The road ends just east of a blinking traffic light on U.S. 183 and will be extended to connect to toll road 183A. This portion of the project will be paid for and built by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority as part of the toll road 183A expansion project.
The county will then extend the road east from 183A to CR 270.
Long said the road is already designed and the project will go to bid “in conjunction with the CTRMA.”
Population in Williamson County is growing faster than the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan statistical area, which includes Travis, Hays, Williamson, Bastrop and Caldwell counties. The county’s population is projected to double between 2000 and 2030, with an estimated 900,000 population by 2035.
The projected growth is equivalent to adding five cities the size of Round Rock.
County officials plan for the growth, taking into account economic and demographic assessments, real estate analysis and Williamson County-specific factors of such as employers, hospitals and universities, which affect traffic patterns, population and land use.