The city of Cedar Park and Williamson County cut the ribbon Thursday afternoon on the extension of Little Elm Trail, which now provides an additional east-west route to relieve congestion on Cypress Creek Road.

The roadway project fills the gaps on Little Elm Trail between Lakeline Boulevard and US 183 and includes right-turn lanes on southbound US 183, Lakeline and the existing portion of Little Elm. The project, which was initially budgeted for $7.5 million and given a completion date in March, was completed for $6 million and officially opened Jan. 12, according to the city of Cedar Park.

The 1.2-mile stretch was paid for by Williamson County, Cedar Park’s Community Development Corp.—also known as the 4B Board, the city’s utility fund and voter-authorized general obligation bond refunds.

At a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, Cedar Park Mayor Matt Powell praised the partnership between the city and the county and discussed the benefits of the new roadway.

“This is a project that we’ve been talking about for a very long time,” he said. “It provides another east-west [roadway] over here, it gives this neighborhood greater connectivity, and it opens up greater commercial possibilities—there’s really no downside to this project.”

Williamson County Commissioner Cynthia Long said discussion on the Little Elm project began when she served on City Council in 1995. Now that it is complete, she said residents would be happy to have the roadway as a reliever to Cypress Creek Road.

“It takes a lot of folks to get something like this over the goal line, and it is exciting to be here today and be able to cut the ribbon,” she said.