Georgetown Transportation Manager Lua Saluone presented an update on 2021 Road Bond projects during a Jan. 28 City Council workshop.
The discussion
During the meeting, District 5 council member Kevin Pitts questioned the construction setbacks.
“Every single [road] project on here, besides the Austin Avenue bridges ... did not hit the dates given to us less than 12 months ago,” Pitts said. “What is the reason for the delay in every single project?”
Saluone said utility conflicts and right-of-way relocations are mainly causing holdups.
Wesley Wright, Georgetown systems engineering director, said officials underestimated the number of utility conflicts that would arise, using the SE Inner Loop project as an example.
“We expected about seven [conflicts], and we ended up with 22,” Wright said.
Project funding
In addition to construction delays, the city is also over budget by $6.3 million for seven city road projects identified in the 2021 Road Bond, which are expected to cost $194.2 million in construction, according to city documents.
Mayor Josh Schroeder said officials have seen higher-than-anticipated costs for construction since the bond passed, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
The timeline
Saluone’s presentation included some construction start and end dates as well as time frames for bids—or proposal advertisements to contractors. The new time frames are:
Hwy. 29
- Bid: September 2025
- Construction starts: September 2025
- Construction ends: fall 2026
- Bid: June 2025
- Bid: fall 2025
- Construction ends: summer 2026
- Construction started: October 2024
- Construction ends: October 2025
- Bid: spring 2026
- Construction starts: summer 2026
- Construction ends: summer 2027
- Bid: February 2025
- Construction starts: summer 2025
- Construction ends: fall 2026
- Bid: early 2025
- Construction starts: June 2025
- Bid: May 2025
- Construction start: summer 2025
- Construction ends: fall 2027
- Bid: January 2026
- Construction starts: March 2026
- Construction ends: October 2027
- Bid: summer 2025
- Construction starts: fall 2025
- Construction ends: fall 2027
Remember this?
DB Wood Road’s Phase 2 includes a 2.3-mile roadway that will widen to four lanes with a median and shared-use path, according to the city’s website.
The city anticipates welcoming students to its new high school off DB Wood Road by fall 2028, Assistant City Manager Nick Woolery said. The newly presented timeline puts the road finishing construction before then.
DB Wood Road Phase 1 started construction in 2022 and was originally anticipated to finish by the end of 2024, according to previous Community Impact reporting. Phase 1 is now slated to be completed by August 2025, according to the city’s website.
Also of note
An original plan to improve Williams Drive was projected to cost $37.84 million—not including costs for relocating utility lines or right-of-way acquisitions—according to city documents. As total funding for the project is currently at $18.63 million, officials decided to decrease the project’s scope to stay within budget.
Saluone said the two Williams Drive projects under the reduced scope include the illumination project and the access management project, costing $2.5 million and $8.9 million in construction, respectively.
Right-of-way acquisition is underway for improvements on Leander Road, Saluone said. Constructing and designing the road is expected to cost $30.9 million, while current funding for the project is $18.6 million, per city documents. Officials are currently seeking grants, Saluone said.
Other projects
The city is also working on six new traffic signals. Three signals off Wolf Ranch Parkway are expected to become operational in February, Saluone said. The lights at Legacy Crossing and Rivery Driveway will be temporary wire signals until Wolf Ranch Parkway is built out, according to the city’s website.
The Texas Department of Transportation will open bids for a signal at CR 245 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard in September, Saluone said. Officials hope to get bids out for the CR 245 and Williams Drive traffic signal as quickly as possible, he said.
Construction for the signal slated for Lakeway Drive and Northwest Boulevard could be delayed to receive possible safety funding from TxDOT, Saluone said.
Also on the agenda
At the City Council meeting later that night, officials approved a grant application for $9.01 million, which would go to the Austin Avenue pedestrian bridge project, per city documents.
What to expect
Staff will return to council in the summer to discuss funding, cost and grant updates.
“Whatever we can do to get roads on the ground faster, I’m in favor of,” Pitts said. “Hitting some of these deadlines that were given is important.”
