Due to delays in relocating utility lines along the Bee Caves Road Improvement Project area, the Texas Department of Transportation has pushed back its estimated completion date of the project to summer 2019. West Lake Hills residents and City Council received an update on the project at a special council workshop Sept. 27. TxDOT Assistant Engineer Michelle Chambers updated the city on continued utility work along Bee Caves, completed projects and upcoming improvements.

Trouble with utilities

Relocating utility lines, from inside the construction zone to an area they will not interfere with new construction, was expected to be completed by the end of 2016, Chambers said. The new estimate is that the utility work could be finished by the end of January.

“We ran into a few problems with the utilities companies, and we have delayed some of the project because they were late in relocating lines,” she said.

As of Sept. 27, according to Chambers, Austin Energy had completed relocating its electrical lines. A water line from Redbud Trail to Buckeye Trail has been relocated, as has a gas line the runs from Redbud to Westbrook Drive.

However, utility crews are still in the process of relocating overhead and underground telecommunication wires, she said.

“[Utility work] is getting better, but we are still being impacted,” Chambers said. “I think Hurricane Harvey has impacted [utility company resources and crew availability] as well. If the utilities are not cleared by February, then it would push the project back further.”

She said Aaron Concrete Contractors, the project’s developer, has been able to rephase the project and keep it moving even with the unanticipated delays.

Completed work

Chambers said the project is divided into quadrants, with roadwork beginning at the west end of the project’s boundaries and crews working their way east as the project progresses.

As of the Sept. 27 meeting, construction crews had successfully excavated the hillside between Old Bee Caves Road and Buckeye, making room to widen the roadway, she said. Retaining walls have been built along the hillside between Sundown Parkway and Buckeye.

Sidewalks have been completed from Redbud to Bluff Park Circle on both sides of Bee Caves.
TxDOT has also installed the equipment needed for an intelligent transportation system, which is a system of cameras and sensors that control stoplights based on traffic patterns, Chambers said.

“The system recognizes vehicles and the type of movements [on the road],” she said. “That helps with traffic flow at lights.”

Upcoming construction

According to Chambers, additional work on water lines and storm sewers will continue through the year, and retaining walls will be built on the south side of Bee Caves between Sundown and Bulian Lane.
Once Bee Caves is widened, the project calls for sections of Buckeye, McConnell Drive and Westhaven Drive to be lowered by as much as 5 feet to match the road’s new grading.

The western section of the project, between Redbud and Buckeye, could be completed by next summer, she said.