The Texas Department of Transportation has agreed to update plans for its Hwy. 71 median project in Bee Cave, removing proposed medians near the Hill Country Galleria to prevent traffic disruptions.

The overview

The project was designed by TxDOT to improve road safety and reduce crashes by implementing medians on a stretch of Hwy. 71 in Bee Cave. It has been adjusted to exclude construction in the downtown region of Bee Cave between Hamilton Pool Road and Uplands Ridge Drive.

The project will now only see medians constructed between Hamilton Pool Road on the eastern end and Bee Creek Road on the western end.

Removed medians will be reincorporated as part of a later project by TxDOT once highway widening has been addressed, according to city documents.

The details

At a May 13 Bee Cave City Council meeting, City Manager Julie Oakley said Bee Cave officials pushed for the proposed medians to be removed due to mobility concerns.

“If those medians were to go in with the current traffic cones, it would restrict the movement of the current patterns of traffic and it would constrain the flow that is out there right now,” Oakley said. “TxDOT agreed that we would put the median project off between [RM] 620 and Hamilton Pool Road until there was an increase in capacity of that roadway in the form of, hopefully, a widening.”

The city of Bee Cave recently passed a resolution supporting an effort to widen Hwy. 71, urging officials from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, or CAMPO, to prioritize the project in its Draft 2050 Regional Transportation Plan.

Prior to the May 13 meeting, city officials met with local TxDOT engineer William Semora Jr., who reviewed the city’s resolution to support modifications to the project and said that TxDOT agreed with the plan.

“I think this is a great compromise,” council member Kevin Hight said. “The way that it was initially going to be laid out, I think was going to be a nightmare for the community and particularly for some of our businesses along that little stretch [of road].”

What they’re saying

Council voted unanimously to pass the resolution in support of the project adjustment.

“I think when we’re asked, frequently, ‘What are the most important issues that we deal with here?’—it’s our infrastructure and enhancing public safety,” council member Blake Sbrocco said. “I think [the updated median project] is a beneficial addition that’s hopefully going to enhance our infrastructure while enhancing public safety at the same time.”