County announces Hwy. 29 alignment
County announces Hwy. 29 alignment
Written by Kara Vaught Friday, 19 September 2008
Williamson County commissioners Valerie Covey, precinct three, and Cynthia Long, precinct two, released a five-part plan Sept. 4 to improve transportation in the county after four months of public input on the future expansion of Hwy. 29.
The commissioners said they heard residents’ urging to make the current Hwy. 29 facility last as long as possible and, when expansion becomes necessary, to make the footprint of the wider road smaller, with the least impact on existing homes and businesses.
From several route options, the commissioners selected the southern bypass alignment from the Burnet County line to Ronald Reagan Boulevard. Hwy. 29 cannot be expanded on the existing road in that area due to engineering and environmental concerns, including historical sites such as the Bryson Stagecoach, they said.
“The goal of all of this was to minimize the impact on people and businesses,” Long said. “[This route] has the lowest possible number of people impacted. We couldn’t get the number down to zero.”
From west of D.B. Wood Road to Ronald Reagan, the commissioners chose the combination alignment.
Long and Covey said the road will not be expanded until needed — estimating more than 15 years before construction would begin.
The county will begin negotiations with willing landowners along the alignment route after the first of the year.
“We aren’t going to use condemnation or eminent domain,” Long said. “This will be only with willing sellers, and we’ll have options including leasebacks and option periods.”
Funds for land purchases will come from the 2006 Bond Program and would require approval from the commissioners’ court. However, Long said the bulk of purchases will be made with funds from future road bond programs, which are approved or rejected by public vote.
In response to residents’ concern with the proposed 400-foot right of way, the footprint of the expansion was scaled back to 300 feet. That figure includes the existing road, which varies in width from about 180 to 200 feet.
“We’ve heard people say they don’t want a 10- or 12-lane road, and that’s not what we’re proposing,” Covey said. “What we’re looking at is four through lanes with no traffic lights and frontage roads for local traffic. You’d much rather pull out from a neighborhood onto a frontage road than the highway.”
To funnel traffic off Hwy. 29 in the near term, the commissioners will produce a road improvement plan to expand and upgrade existing facilities including CR 200, CR 279, CR 214 and FM 3405. The plan will be incorporated into the updated long-range transportation plan that is currently being developed. It will likely be submitted to the commissioners’ court for approval early in 2009.
Last, Covey and Long will create a community-based safety and mobility task force within the next 30 days to examine and recommend ways to improve overall transportation on Hwy. 29. The group will include representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation, Williamson County, local school districts, law enforcement and first responders.
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