Transportation
BY HALEY MCLEOD & GRACIE WARHURST
Roads close for Old Settlers Park project Roads near Old Settlers Park temporarily closed in October to make way for the city of Round Rock’s park expansion project. What residents need to know To reach the Multipurpose Field Complex, drivers will enter from North Kenney Fort Boulevard. To visit the baseball fields, tennis complex, apex fields and Yonders Point, driv- ers will use Old Settlers Boulevard or North Red Bud Lane. For access to soccer fields, disc golf, and the Rabb Pavilion and Playground, drivers should enter from Hwy. 79 and Harrell Parkway.
Street maintenance 1 Bass Pro Drive 2 Mays Street 3 Hidden Valley Drive 4 Creek Bend Boulevard 5 Bowman Road 6 Tiger Trail 7 Chandler Creek Boulevard 8 Smyers Lane 9 Deep Wood Drive
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KENNEY FORT BLVD.
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SOURCE: CITY OF ROUND ROCK/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Round Rock arterials get $3.5M in maintenance work Round Rock City Council approved $3.5 million in funding Oct. 24 for the 2023 Arterial Street Maintenance Program with a contract with Cutler Repaving. The update
TxDOT breaks ground on $4.5B I-35 construction TxDOT broke ground on its I-35 Capital Express Central project Oct. 30, which falls under the roughly 800,000 miles of roadway maintained by the agency statewide. The project will add two nontolled high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, stretching about 8 miles from Hwy. 290 to Hwy. 71. The $4.5 billion infrastructure project will also lower the main lanes from Airport Boulevard to Lady Bird Lake and remove the upper decks, making room for a separate city of Austin initiative to add deck plazas. The agency also outlined bicycle and pedestrian improvements, including 19 miles of a new shared- use path, as well as bike-pedestrian-only crossings constructed at Third Street, Fourth Street, 15th Street, 41st Street and 51st Street in Austin. Looking ahead Crews have already begun work to reconstruct needed. Director of Public Works Michael Thane said the maintenance should provide seven to 10 years of longevity for the roadways once completed. About the program Round Rock has two street maintenance programs—one for neighborhood roads and one for arterials, which are major roadways. Over the last 10 years, the city has spent $25 million for the arterial street maintenance program and $35 million for the neighborhood program. Work on the latest street paving projects will begin in December and complete in spring 2025.
Heritage Trail West spiral ramp now open A spiral ramp that connects the lower and upper parts of Heritage Trail West is now open for public use. What is it? The ramp, which overlooks Memorial Park, is a part of the ongoing Heritage Trail West project, a 1-mile addition to the Brushy Creek Trail system, which will link the west side of Round Rock to the city’s downtown. Other project features include: • a 10-foot wide trail from Chisholm Trail Road to Mays Street; • a pedestrian bridge with overlook to Brushy Creek; • and improvements at Bathing Beach Park, Chisholm Trail Crossing Park and Memorial Park. The road work will improve segments of Creek Bend Boulevard, Bass Pro Drive, Smyers Lane, Mays Street, Deep Wood Drive, Hidden Valley Drive, Bowman Road, Tiger Trail and Chandler Creek Trail. This maintenance involves removing a layer of old asphalt to replace it with fresh surfacing, along with repairing damaged pavement, curbs, sidewalks and driveway approaches where
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and widen the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard bridge, with the next segment of construction to begin near Lady Bird Lake, from Holly Street to Hwy. 71, in early 2025. Construction along the entire corridor is not expected to be complete until 2033, but TxDOT has broken it down into smaller contracts. As segments get contracted out, drivers should expect road closures. According to TxDOT, three lanes will remain open in each direction at all times.
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