O'Connor Drive project provides new connection for Round Rock drivers to SH 45, N Loop 1

Round Rock drivers are hoping to see traffic relief on RM 620 after the completion of a long-awaited project connecting O'Connor Drive to SH 45 N opened Aug. 20.

The project, a joint effort between Williamson County and TxDOT, is designed to get drivers in southwest Round Rock to SH 45 N without having to use RM 620.

"This has been a long time coming," Williamson County Commissioner Lisa Birkman said.

Birkman said she promised residents the project would be done by the time school started, making that deadline by four days.

The project broke ground in March 2011 and was originally scheduled for completion in December 2013. It faced setbacks including the bankruptcy of its original contractor as well as environmental concerns regarding area caves full of endangered species of insects.

"Anything that could go wrong went wrong," Birkman said. "But we're here today."

The neighborhoods around RM 620 are known as an expanding area in a fast-growing city. Before, residents who lived off O'Connor Drive and wanted to go east on SH 45 N would have to first drive southwest on RM 620. Now the extension will connect O'Connor to the toll road and its feeders, opening access to businesses along it.

The project was divided into three parts — the new interchange, the O'Connor extension, and intersection improvements at O'Connor and Great Oaks drives.

The project's total cost was $31 million, with the county paying approximately $6 million for the extension. The interchange was $25 million and the county paid approximately $7 million of that cost.

The extension was funded through a bond dating back to 2000. Birkman called it the longest road bond project in the county's history. Originally, it was supposed to connect with Wyoming Springs Drive, but the county was unable to get environmental clearance. Birkman said the O'Connor location is better than the original plan because of its easy access to Loop 1.

Mike Freeman, president of the Greater Round Rock West Neighborhood Association, said he lives off a road people would use as a cut-through before the extension opened. Freeman, a Realtor, said he is happy that he can now get to the H-E-B off the toll road without having to drive through the neighborhood and encountering traffic lights and speed bumps.

"It'll make a big difference for our neighborhood because one of the biggest complaints is traffic," he said.

County Judge Dan Gattis said coming to the project area reminded him how much growth Round Rock has seen.

"I think we stay right up there with the big boys as far as building roads in dollars and miles in this county," Gattis said.

Birkman said the county was able to keep pace with growth because of forward-thinking voters.

"The voters and citizens realize we need to keep building," she said. "Because congestion is a negative influence on everyone's life, and no one wants to sit in traffic."

Marty Barnes is a resident who lives off Great Oaks. Barnes said she is excited to have quick access to 45 N and MoPac straight from her neighborhood.

"Lots of growth in the area," she said. "But growth is good."