After initially failing to gain financing, a $760,000 plan to expand North Bell Boulevard at the Walton Way intersection may happen after all.

Efforts are under way to add a second left-turn lane on northbound North Bell Boulevard and a dedicated right-turn lane for southbound drivers seeking to enter Walton Way.

The Texas Department of Transportation agreed to dedicate $600,000 in federally allotted money as long as Cedar Park pays the difference, approximately $160,000.

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization did not originally select the project following its 2011 Call for Projects.

However, after another roadway project in Austin needed replaced, the US 183 expansion gained approval at a March 19 CAMPO Transportation Policy Board meeting.

TxDOT is preparing an advanced funding agreement that will outline the cost in more detail, Cedar Park Engineering Director Darwin Marchell said. Planning and construction would take six to eight months once the agreement is approved by city and state officials.

The project was not the city's top priority, Marchell admitted, but drivers who frequent the highway should notice the improvements once complete.

"This was on our long wish list of projects," he said.

The expansion has both safety and mobility benefits, Cedar Park Transportation Planner Tom Gdala said.

"During the peak hours, especially the seasonal time, the left-turn movement will block the through lanes," Gdala said. "Since Walton Way has Walmart, the added right lane will always be supported with high commercial use."

Construction should not require any detours or lane closures, Gdala said, because the work will largely be done outside the existing lanes. But if any lane closures are necessary, he said TxDOT requires they occur late at night to avoid denser daytime traffic.