Round Rock officials took one of the first steps in getting started on widening a new segment of Gattis School Road, approving $1.2 million April 27 to engineer the project.

The 3,400 feet of street running from the intersection of Lawnmont Drive to Windy Park Drive will be widened to a five-lane roadway, under the city's Transportation Master Plan. The about $1.23 million contract was won by Rodriguez Transportation Group Inc. The contract will be paid with sales tax revenue through the city's Transportation and Economic Development Corporation.

Under this contract, the firm will prepare a design schematic for the project, specifications for work to be done and an estimate of construction costs. Current plans for the roadway will see it expanded to include a continuous left-turn lane to eliminate left-turn conflicts, a shared use path on the north side of the road and sidewalk on the south side.