The project is planned to expand CR 132 to six lanes between Limmer Loop and CR 199 and add an overpass at Hwy. 79.
Hutto City Council approved a $927,920.96 contract with Garver LLC for the engineering and design work at a March 23 meeting.
Prior to the vote, Mayor Mike Snyder proposed selecting a different engineering firm. He said since Garver is already working on several other projects for the city, he is concerned about the firm's ability to finish the design in a timely manner.
"We don't seem to have a single engineering project that's on time, and we've given this one company lots of projects," Snyder said. "It feels like they're outside their bandwidth—they're just too busy."
However, council members argued that the city is as much at fault for recent engineering delays as Garver.
"Every other meeting we're tacking on new projects [and] changing the scope of projects," Council Member Krystal Kinsey said. "I think it's completely unfair ... to say that no work has been done in 18 months and they're just dragging their feet."
Council approved the contract in a 6-1 vote, with Snyder as the only vote against.
Cost and timelines estimates for the project are not yet available.
