During the May 28 Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association annual meeting, the Texas Department of Transportation unveiled preliminary plans to add a roadway that would run from RR 620 to RR 2222 and would bypass the intersection of the two roads in an effort to reduce traffic congestion.
"We're advocating for specific [traffic] solutions, and we're really happy we're at that step," SRNA Chairman Brian Thompto said.
The proposal is the result of combined efforts of SRNA board members; state Rep. Paul Workman, R-Austin; Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty; Four Points Chamber of Commerce officers; the 2222 Coalition of Neighborhood Associations; and TxDOT officials to relieve the congestion in Four Points, said Mark Jones, TxDOT Williamson County area engineer.
The project will also likely involve the addition of a lane in each direction on a segment of RR 2222 between roughly the bypass and McNeil Drive, he said. Double left-turn lanes would be constructed running east off RR 2222 onto McNeil Drive northbound. There would not be an extra lane from McNeil to Capital of Texas Hwy., he said.
An alternate proposal splits the bypass, allowing for a right-turn-only onto eastbound RR 2222 from the bypass, he said.
Jones said about 48,600 vehicles a day traverse RR 620 south of RR 2222, about 38,400 vehicles a day pass RR 2222 just east of RR 620 and about 43,500 vehicles a day drive RR 2222 east of River Place Boulevard.
Jones said he projects between a 2 percent and 3 percent population growth rate for the area annually. Residents said the growth rate in the area is much higher than the projection and cited a recently completed multifamily complex on RR 2222 at RR 620, Escape at Four Points, that will add about 300 units to the area.
Compared to when she moved to Steiner Ranch in 2009, resident and meeting attendee Jessie Chang said traffic has become out of control.
"The traffic is so heavy, especially in the mornings," Chang said. "It takes forever to get from Steiner Ranch to [RR] 2222."
Workman said the project does not automatically get a green light and still has hurdles to overcome.
"All projects are saddled with environmental issues," he said. "Funding is [also] going to be the big issue."
TxDOT would like to begin construction on the proposal after school ends in June 2015, Jones said.
"This [proposal] is the only thing we're looking at right now [for the Four Points area]," he said.
