Segment has faced community controversies through the years

Round Rock will begin work on a $9 million extension of Creek Bend Boulevard in the first quarter of 2015, according to city officials. The project has been in the works for more than a decade.

The city's plan includes a 3,100-foot extension from Creek Bend Boulevard to Wyoming Springs Drive and Brightwater Boulevard. To do that, an overpass will be built over Hairy Man Road and Brushy Creek, according to city documents.

The project will also include a raised median, a 5-foot-wide sidewalk for pedestrians and a 10-foot-wide sidewalk to accommodate cyclists, according to city documents.

The goal is to provide a north/south arterial route as an alternative to I-35 on the city's west side, Round Rock Transportation Director Gary Hudder said.

Currently Creek Bend Boulevard ends where it intersects with Creek Bend Circle.

Hair Man Road runs past Creek Bend Boulevard's sourthern point. To the south of Hairy Man is Brushy Creek, followed by private property.

On the other side of the property is the intersection of Brightwater and Wyoming Springs, which is where the extension will connect on its southern point.

Hudder said the project should last approximately 18 months.

"To the west of I-35, there are very limited north/south arterial routes," Hudder said. "That's because of the creek and creek crossing. Those are expensive routes to put in."

Hudder said the project costs $9 million because significant portions of the road will be elevated. Furthermore he said it will be a four-lane, divided arterial road, which leads to more material costs. Construction costs overall are rising, he said.

The city had to make certain right of way acquisitions, which cost approximately $720,000. Included in that was the purchase of a house at the intersection of Creek Bend Boulevard and Creek Bend Circle as well as the stretch of property the road will run through.

The city did not use eminent domain to acquire any of the property, Hudder said.

Though Creek Bend Boulevard runs through a neighborhood, Hudder said it was designed and built as an arterial road and will function appropriately.

He said city staffers were cognizant of the potential for extra traffic in the neighborhood, which is why a component of the plan was to install traffic signals at the intersection of Sam Bass Road and Creek Bend Boulevard as well as at Wyoming Springs and Brightwater, which the city did earlier this year.

Hudder said the city was also aware of the impact the project could have on Hairy Man Road, which he described as "iconic." He said the city tried to minimize impact on that road.

Over its more than a decade-long planning, the project has faced opposition from neighborhood groups, including protests at City Hall in 2007. Mayor Alan McGraw said the agreement the city made was to widen Wyoming Springs first, so traffic from Creek Bend Boulevard would not flow into a narrow road.

"Clearly there are some people who resisted it," McGraw said. "You can never satisfy everyone."

Round Rock resident Sheila Smith lives a few houses away from Creek Bend Boulevard. Smith, a registered nurse, said she is "not thrilled" about the extension.

"We were a quiet community for 25 years," she said. "I'm afraid it will bring a lot more traffic and impact the community life and ambience of what it's like [next to the creek]."