$240M In Road Projects Planned For Round Rock In The Next 4 Years

ROUND ROCK, TX — The city of Round Rock is hitting the gas pedal on implementing nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars worth of road improvements over the next five years, officials announced on Monday.

It's all part of a program the city has dubbed "Driving Progress," being launched with a minimum municipal investment of $240 million over the next five years "...to improve roadway capacity and connectivity," city officials wrote in an advisory. To reach that plan, officials explained, the city plans to issue certificates of obligation over the next four years.

The goal began in earnest last year, when city officials put funding strategies into place to accelerate transportation improvements in the short term. The ultimate goal is to quicken implementation of a $1.2 billion Transportation Master Plan approved in October 2017, city officials explained.

The City Council approved Roadway Impact Fees in March 2019, which will be paid by developers to cover some of the costs of expanding our transportation network necessitated by their projects. In April 2019, the City issued $30 million in certificates of obligation to begin work sooner rather than later on major roadway improvements such as widening Gattis School Road and University Boulevard.

In addition to issuing certificates of obligation to finance the ambitious plan, other funding sources include the city's half-cent, Type B sales tax revenues, state and federal funds such as those received through the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO); and partnerships with private developers. Funding for Round Rock projects is also expected via the general obligation bonds approved by Williamson County voters in November, city officials added.

Following are some of the projects expected to break ground this year:

• University Boulevard widening from the IH-35 frontage road to Sunrise Boulevard.
• University Boulevard widening from A.W. Grimes Boulevard to SH 130.
• Gattis School Road widening from Via Sonoma Trail to Red Bud Lane.
• Logan Street extension from Greenlawn Boulevard to A.W. Grimes Boulevard.
• Kenney Fort Boulevard extension from Old Settlers Boulevard to Joe DiMaggio Boulevard (known as Segment 4).
• Kenney Fort Boulevard extension from Forest Creek Drive to SH 45 frontage road (known as Segments 2, 3).

Other projects in the Driving Progress program include:

• Gattis School Road widening from .25 miles west of A.W. Grimes to .2 miles east of Double Creek Drive (known as Segment 3).
• Wyoming Springs extension from Brightwater Boulevard/Creekbend Boulevard to FM 3406/Old Settler’s Boulevard.
• Red Bud Lane North widening from Wal-Mart at U.S. 79 to County Road 117.
• Red Bud Lane South widening from Evergreen Drive to Gattis School Road.

City officials noted the outlined projects don’t include the significant work being done by the Texas Department of Transportation in Round Rock, most notably the widening of RM 620 and improvements to IH 35.

So hang in there residents of Round Rock — recently listed among the top 20 fastest-growing cities in the U.S., a notch above Austin — as a reprieve from traffic congestion is not too far down the road.