Bettis gave an update on the project—which will widen the roads to three lanes, add a roundabout, and improve curbs, gutters, drainage, street lights, sidewalks, crosswalks and bike lanes—at the Oct. 3 Leander City Council meeting.
The specifics
Curb and gutter improvements along Woodview Drive are complete and so are the sidewalks, Bettis said.
The project runs from Crystal Falls Parkway to Woodview Drive on Raider Way, and from Raider Way to 183A Toll on Woodview Drive.
The southeast and northwest quadrants of the roundabout at Woodview Drive and Raider Way have been constructed, Bettis said.
Bettis said he is hopeful that by the end of December traffic will be flowing in both directions on Raider Way, which is currently one-way. He also said he hopes traffic back to two-way on Woodview Drive by spring break.
Quote of note
“A project like this is very big, is very challenging. It has a lot of concerns,” Bettis said.
Traffic accidents are one of the main concerns, he said.
In the time since school started Aug. 14 until about a week before the meeting, Bettis said there had only been one accident specifically related to the project.
Another concern was in regard to emergency services in the area, but Bettis said the fire and police departments have come up with plans to reach the area when needed, and the average emergency response time in the area from Aug. 14-Oct. 3 was 6 minutes and 44 seconds.
Dig deeper
There are traffic peaks in the morning and afternoon on the roads surrounding the project. Bettis said the first peak is from about 6:30-9 a.m., and the second peak is from about 3-5 p.m. The peaks are largely due to traffic going to and from the nearby schools—Wiley Middle School and Rouse High School.
There is also a small peak during lunchtime hours.
Bettis said the Leander Public Works Department tries to adjust traffic signals where possible to ease the flow of vehicles, but he said things are largely already optimized as much as possible.
