Lake Travis - Westlake Edition | February 2022

TRANSPORTATIONUPDATES Lakeway reviews 13 projects for future bond

PREPARING FOR A BOND The city of Lakeway has hired an engineer to help analyze 13 projects that could be included in a future bond. Here is a look at where those projects are.

PROJECTS UNDER REVIEW 1 Lakeway Boulevard mill and overlay 2 Lohmans Crossing Road mill and overlay 3 Lakeway Drive mill and overlay 4 Lakeway Drive culvert 5 Top O’ The Lake Drive culvert 6 Wild Cherry Drive/Flint Rock Road trac signal 7 Lohmans Crossing/Main Street trac signal

8 Medical Parkway/Flint Rock Road sight distance 9 Lakeway Drive crosswalk 10 Lakeway Boulevard pedestrian connectivity 11 Lakeway Drive pedestrian connectivity 12 Serene Hills Drive widening 13 Barrie Drive/Joseph Drive Connection to RM 620 and Delsie Drive connection

The 183 North project is scheduled to nish construction in 2026. (Courtesy Jeerson Carroll)

BY GRACE DICKENS

Lakeway will work with engi- neering company Walter P. Moore to review 13 transportation projects recognized by the city as needing improvement, including roadways, drainage, sidewalks and trac signals. Working with an engineer to develop plans for improvement will prepare the city for a potential transportation bond election in the future, according to the city. The earliest a bond election could be called is this November if aggressive action is taken now, but the next possible election would be in May 2023, Mayor Tom Kilgore said. “With regard to our roadways, drainage [and] sidewalks, we know that we’re in a place that we have aging infrastructure, and much of this infrastructure is in need of improvement now,” Lakeway City Manager Julie Oakley said. The 13 projects include mill and overlays, culvert replacements, trac signals, pedestrian transpor- tation connectivity, road widening and road extensions. The city can be reimbursed for the engineering proposal fee of $191,380 upon the passage of a bond in the future, according to the city.

REGIONAL PROJECTS

MOPAC

183

SOURCE: CITY OF LAKEWAY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

LAKEWAY DR.

183 North expansion breaks ground The Central Texas Regional Mobili- ty Authority’s 183 North expansion project has begun. The 9-mile project between SH 45N/RM 620 and MoPac is estimated to cost $612 million and will add a total of four express toll lanes and two general-purpose lanes, making it 18 lanes wide in some areas. The Mobility Authority held a virtual groundbreaking ceremony Jan. 26 with a ceremonial tree planting, according to a Mobility Authority release. Timeline: January 2022-26

LOHMANS CROSSING RD.

LAKEWAY BLVD.

620

11 9 4

HIGHLANDS BLVD.

JOSEPH DR.

DELSIE DR.

TOP O' THE LAKE DR.

BARRIE DR.

MAIN ST.

LAKEWAY

SERENE HILLS DR.

6 8

290

MOPAC

WILD CHERRY DR.

183

MEDICAL PKWY.

360

620

MAP NOT TO SCALE N

ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF FEB. 7. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT LTWNEWSCOMMUNITYIMPACT.COM. ow through downtown. TxDOT’s proposal is to tear down the upper decks on I-35 through Central Austin, lower the lanes and add two high-oc- cupancy vehicle, or HOV, lanes in both directions. The project spans 8 miles between Hwy. 290 East to SH 71/Ben White Boulevard. The goal is to reduce congestion, improve safety and make it easier to travel east to west. Timeline: July 2021-26 TxDOT, Austin hear community feedback on I-35 project The Texas Department of Transpor- tation and the city of Austin held a community engagement meeting Jan. 25 to hear the public’s opinions and concerns about the $4.9 billion I-35 Captial Express Central project that is expected to improve the city’s trac

TxDOT closes right-turn lane fromRM2222 toRM620 throughearly spring

complete the remaining work on RM 2222 as part of the area’s bypass project. According to the TxDOT website, this series of projects aims to add additional capacity to the congested roadway and reduce travel times through the corridor. TxDOT held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October marking the completion of the RM 2222 widening project. Additionally, the south- bound lane of the new bypass road from RM 2222 to RM 620 is sched- uled to open in April, after the north- bound lane opened in summer 2021, according to a TxDOT spokesperson.

BY CLAIRE SHOOP

The Texas Department of Trans- portation closed the right-turn lane from westbound RM 2222 to north- bound RM 620 in January as part of its ongoing project in the area. The agency expects the right-turn lane to be closed for several months until early spring. Throughout the closure, two west- bound lanes on RM 2222 will remain open. According to the release, one lane will be a dedicated left-turn lane onto southbound RM 620, while the other will allow drivers to turn left, continue straight or turn right. The closure will allow TxDOT to

620

2222

SOURCE: TXDOTCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

Construction on the bypass project totals $27.2 million, with the city of Austin contributing $7.5 million from the 2016 voter-approved mobility bond.

LAKE TRAVIS WESTLAKE EDITION • FEBRUARY 2022