Road will be main entrance to Lakeway Regional Medical Center
Construction on Flint Rock Trace will likely be finished by the time the Lakeway Regional Medical Center opens in mid-April, LRMC CEO David Kreye said.
Flint Rock Trace is being widened to four lanes at the RR 620 intersection. The Texas Department of Transportation will install a traffic light at the intersection within the next three months, Kreye said.
Flint Rock Trace is also being extended to connect with Medical Parkway. There will be a three-way stop where the two roads intersect.
Lakeway City Manager Steve Jones said Flint Rock Trace will serve as the hospital's main entrance.
"That is the front door of the hospital right now," he said.
Construction started on Flint Rock Trace in February and has detoured traffic to the intersection of Lohmans Spur and RR 620.
The construction was funded by Phin-Ker Ventures, the developer of the LRMC land and surrounding tract.
Flint Rock Road
Travis County and Lakeway officials are looking to fund improvements to Flint Rock Road, which connects to Flint Rock Trace and will have an increase in traffic because of the LRMC, Jones said.
The road will likely be used by some people going to and from the hospital and by ambulances, as it can be a more direct route from Hwy. 71 than taking RR 620.
Travis County voters last year approved a $4.13 million bond referendum to improve Flint Rock Road. Lakeway will have a bond election in November to fund its share of the road improvements, Jones said.
Travis County engineer Steve Manilla said the county is waiting for the Lakeway bond election before moving forward on any Flint Rock Road improvements.
"Once we know they have their money pretty much secured, then we can start the process of getting it designed and ultimately built," he said.
Travis County and the City of Lakeway are working together on the Flint Rock Road project because the road alternates between county-owned and City of Lakeway–owned land.
Jones said residents who live along Flint Rock Road complained to the city for years that the road was not safe. The residents said that Flint Rock Road is narrow and twisting, and there are no shoulders, he said.
"The road, in my opinion, is dangerous," he said.
The plan for Flint Rock Road is to add left-turn lanes at major intersections, add shoulders, flatten hills and straighten curves. The plan would also widen a portion of Flint Rock Road to four lanes.
In addition to safety concerns, city and county officials say the road is going to become even more heavily used with the opening of the LRMC.
The LRMC and surrounding campus, which could take up to 10 years to be fully built-out, could bring in more than 9,000 cars per day, according to a 2008 traffic study report.
An updated report will be submitted to the City of Lakeway within the next few months, Lakeway engineer Paul Duncan said.
Kreye said improvements to Flint Rock Road would be a benefit for the hospital and City of Lakeway.
"When that all gets done I think it will be a huge improvement to the community," he said.
