RM 620

RM 620

Friday, 07 September 2007

RM 620 has some hurdles to overcome in dealing with traffic flow as the area continues to experience commercial growth. The area is also unique because of its rich history and wildlife.

Commercial Property

1. Single Family Development

A developer is planning a high-end subdivision of approximately 120 large lots. The City of Round Rock is still approving construction plans, but developers expect to begin building very soon.

2. Vista 620

Construction is planned to begin for the retail center in December. The estimated completion date is Summer 2008 for the approximately 70,000 sq. ft. space.

An office space and a potential bank pad are also included in development plans.

For more information, contact Gay Carpenter Ruggiano, Commercial and Investment Broker at The Kucera Companies, 346-0025 ext. 258 or gay.ruggiano@kureraco.com.

3. The Park at Wyoming Springs

No date has been finalized to begin this project, but the development features medical office space and is planned to begin in the near future. Approximately 123,000 sq. ft. of medical space is designed for the 16-acre tract.

4. Senior Living Facility

Trisun Healthcare will have private and semi-private rooms that include individual emergency call systems, adaptive bathing facilities, daily housekeeping and laundry services, assistance with daily living activities and scheduled meals. The site will also have a barber/beauty salon and scheduled recreational activities.

For more information, contact the main office at 1-866-309-3330 or info@trisunhealthcare.com.

5. Medical Space

Spaces for doctors offices are planned to face Wyoming Springs in front of Trisun Healthcare.

Wildlife Preserve

6. Beck Preserve

The Commissioners Court, Sept. 26, 2006, officially named the area just west of RM 620 the Beck Preserve after the family who originally bought the land in 1930. For years, the Beck Ranch was one of the county’s most successful cattle operations and beneath the 42.8 acres of ranch lay caves full of moist karst stone formations and endangered species.

“I actually live in a neighborhood near the Beck Ranch and what to do with that land was an issue for many years,” Williamson County Precinct 1 Commissioner Lisa Birkman said. “Everyone ended up coming together with a solution that works for everyone; and the icing on the cake is that we get to name it after the Becks and put a little bit of Williamson County history there.”

There are five endangered species in Williamson County, such as the Golden-cheeked Warbler and the Bone Cave Harvestman spider.

“Williamson County has a projected population growth as high, if not higher, than Travis County in the next 20 years,” Birkman said. “Development is leaving less and less open space, and this is an effort for us to be proactive about growth.”

History

7. The Harris Stagecoach Inn, also known as the Inn of Brushy Creek, opened along the creek close to the rock in 1848. The Inn served stagecoaches carrying mail and passengers from Brownsville to Salado and Helena, Ark. to San Antonio.

Reports from 1853 tell of local citizens gathering at the Inn to await the arrival of stagecoaches. The nearing coach driver sounded a horn about a mile away. Harris kept a flock of geese at the hotel who responded by honking back, bringing much attention to the stage coach.

8. The Brushy Creek Post Office was established in a section of Thomas C. Oatts’ store near the Inn in May 1851. Three years later postal authorities asked Oatts to provide another name for the settlement because there was already a town in Texas calling itself Brushy.

9. Oatts thought of the large Brushy Creek rock where he and Harrell often sat and fished. On August 24, 1854, the name Round Rock was officially given to the community. Despite several floods, the new town along the creek grew. In 1876, the International and Great Northern Railroad laid tracks a mile east of the community, moving the commercial area of Round Rock to modern Main Street.

10.Chisholm Trail

In its time, the cattle drives of the Chisholm Trail passed right through Round Rock and was considered one of the wonders of the western world.

The trail acquired its name from trader Jesse Chisholm, who in 1864 began hauling trade goods to Indian camps south of his post near present day Wichita, Kansas.

While Texas cattlemen were away fighting the Civil War, the cattle multiplied. By 1866, the cattle were worth only $4 a head in Texas, but as much as $40 in the north and east.

On the trail, the herds moved through the Round Rock area on their way to northern markets crossing the Brushy Creek at the low water crossing marked by the round rock in the center of the creek.

Round Rock citizens often gathered to watch the herds cross Brushy Creek.

The trail drives came to an end around 1880 due to several factors: the invention of barbed wire, the proximity of the railroads and the outbreak of Texas fever, a disease that resulted in a quarantine of Texas cattle from entering other states.

Transportation

11. A decrease has been shown in daily total traffic counts from January 24, 2005 to April 24, 2007 in several intersections along RM 620 (see chart below).

12. Williamson County will begin construction to add right turn lanes at Oaklands Drive, Deepwood Drive and Wyoming Springs Drive by Spring 2008. Right turn lanes will also be completed by Summer 2008 at Cornerwood Drive, Greak Oaks Drive and O’Connor Drive, along with a center turn lane.

The project of relieving traffic from Deepwood Drive to IH 35 is a joint effort of the City of Round Rock and TxDOT. A public meeting to gather input was held and a second meeting is pending. Two options being considered:

13. Option one - Improvements between Toll 45 and IH 35 on the existing route, with bridges at all major crossings, including a bridge for the Georgetown Railroad crossing.

14. Option two - Improvements between Toll 45 and Deepwood Drive, with a new road section connecting RM 620 to Hwy. 79 at IH 35. Leave the existing portion of RM 620 between Deepwood Drive and IH 35 in its current condition.