At an April 24 Georgetown Chamber of Commerce meeting, Precinct 3 County Commissioner Valerie Covey outlined several road projects Georgetown and Leander residents can expect in the coming years.

What you need to know

After Williamson County commissioners recently requested a toll viability study for the Ronald Reagan Boulevard corridor, Covey outlined additional widening projects under design or construction along the boulevard. The 30-mile corridor spans from FM 1431 in Cedar Park to I-35 in Georgetown.

According to the county’s website, the corridor project has seven segments, including:

• Segment A: FM 1431 to Hwy. 29
• Segment B: Hwy. 29 to north of FM 3405
• Segment C1: FM 3405 to CR 289
• Segment C2: CR 289 to Williams Drive
• Segment D1: Williams Drive to CR 245
• Segment D2: CR 245 to Sun City Boulevard
• Segment E: SH 195 to I-35

The first segment of Ronald Reagan Boulevard from FM 1431 to Hwy. 29 is the only corridor segment with two frontage roads in both directions. Officials plan on adding additional lanes to the rest of the boulevard in the future, which currently have one frontage road in both directions, Covey said.

Segment B is already under construction and will add two additional lanes, she said. The $52.45 million widening project has an anticipated completion of summer 2027, according to county documents.

According to Covey’s presentation, the 1.1-mile Segment C1 has the following time frame:

• Design completion: late summer
• Construction start date: spring or summer 2026
• Construction end date: spring 2028

Depending on utility easements, crews might begin construction on Segment D1 before beginning construction on Segment C1, Covey said.

Multiple development projects are either planned or under construction at the intersection of Williams Drive and Ronald Reagan Boulevard, including Heirloom Georgetown, a new H-E-B, Sun City and the Nolina master-planned community.

A closer look

Construction on the northbound ramp at SH 195 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard is expected to start in the summer and wrap up by fall 2026, according to Covey’s presentation. The project will construct a right lane exit for SH 195 commuters to directly access Ronald Reagan Boulevard, according to the county’s website.

Three additional on- and off-ramps for the intersection are in design, Covey said.



Also of note

Covey said other local road projects in Precinct 3 include:

• The I-35 and the Southwest Bypass intersection
• RM 2243 (Leander Road)
• SE Inner Loop, from FM 1460 to Hwy. 29
• FM 971

The current I-35 and Southwest Bypass intersection is not the road’s final configuration, and the county wishes to work alongside the Texas Department of Transportation for improvements—specifically a new bridge to allow drivers to go straight across, Covey said.

“The whole intersection there needs to be reconfigured,” Covey said.

Diving in deeper

County officials will eventually reconstruct and widen RM 2243 in two phases from the 183A Toll to the Southwest Bypass. Officials will widen the existing two-lane roadway into a controlled-access highway with two main lanes in each direction separated by a concrete barrier, according to county documents.

The project will also include two three-lane frontage roads with access ramps on either side of the main lanes.

Phase 1 will construct a single frontage road from the 183A Toll to Garey Park, and county documents detail a new alignment for Hero Way, which the single frontage road will follow.

The one frontage road will serve two-way traffic with a dedicated turn lane in the middle until an additional frontage road is built out in a future phase, according to county documents. Covey said construction on the first phase will begin soon.



Stay tuned

Williamson County is partnering with the city of Georgetown for the SE Inner Loop and FM 971 road projects, Covey said.

Georgetown officials will widen 2.91 miles of the SE Inner Loop into a four-lane, divided roadway from FM 1460 to Hwy. 29. The anticipated $70.57 million project is set to begin construction in October, and crews will also construct a shared-use path on one side, according to the city’s website.

Design is underway for an FM 971 expansion project from Gann Street to SH 130, according to the city’s website. Design began in February 2023, and the city’s real estate team is actively securing right of way.



Put in perspective

While Williamson County has a Long Range Transportation Plan, Covey said officials don’t always know when they’ll need to build the roads—or if they’re going to need them at all.

“It depends on the landowners. If they don't sell, if they continue to grow cotton and corn over on the east side, we won’t need all those roads,” Covey said. “But maybe as Samsung comes in, and all the vendors that they buy from have to be within 20-25 miles from them ... all those corn fields become something. I don't know, but we at least have a plan.”