Texas Department of Transportation engineer Epi Gonzalez updated Lakeway City Council on proposed raised medians that will run through a portion of the city along RM 620 during council’s special session Dec. 9.
According to city documents, the project, which will be funded by TxDOT, will place raised medians on RM 620’s center land and span from Lohmans Crossing Boulevard on the southern portion and run slightly past Bella Montangna Circle on the north end.
Gonzalez said the project limits were recently increased by TxDOT and initially stopped at Lakeway Boulevard on the north end.
Gonzalez also discussed travel times that would be increased by adding the medians due to the fact that motorists will no longer be able to turn left or right from RM 620 at any point.
“Once the raised median is in place, you’re not going to be able to make that left turn there,” Gonzalez said, using the section of RM 620 at Randall’s in north Lakeway as an example of how motorists will have to continue to traffic lights to make turns when the project is complete.
Council initially discussed the matter during a special session last December with the goal of making safety improvements ahead of the massive RM 620 widening project that will take the road from five lanes to six lanes and for which construction is scheduled to begin by 2022.
Gonzalez also said the points at which motorists will be able to turn off of RM 620 or make U-turns once the medians are installed will mirror the access points planned as part of the larger widening project.
“Right now, we’re doing the design in-house, and we’re looking at an April letting,” Gonzalez said of when the project would go out for contract. “I checked with the Lake Travis school district, and their last day in May falls in line with the timing of our project.”
Most of the construction work during the summer months will be conducted at night, he said, adding he is confident it can be substantially complete by the end of summer, though a final timeline has not been set.
Regarding costs, Gonzalez said the project carries a price tag estimated at $450,000, all of which would be covered by TxDOT. One aspect the department does request help with from the city of Lakeway, he said, is garnering support from businesses along RM 620.
Mayor Sandy Cox said she appreciated the fact that TxDOT is paying for the project.
