Hwy. 290 updates: Speed limit lowered from Oak Hill to Dripping Springs with other changes in the works

The speed limit along Hwy. 290 W. between the Oak Hill area in Southwest Austin and the city of Dripping Springs has been reduced to 55 mph, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

In effect beginning Aug. 5, the highway’s speed limit has been reduced by 5 mph, and new speed signs were installed Aug. 3, according to a news release by TxDOT.

The 290 Safety Coalition, a local community action group that formed in 2019, petitioned last year to have the speed limit in the same stretch of highway reduced due to a high volume of car accidents in the area.

Last summer, TxDOT hosted a number of community meetings to discuss safety concerns and future improvements along the highway. A feasibility study for possible additional safety improvements or roadway expansions launched last year and is currently underway.

“TxDOT is currently reviewing data collected through public/stakeholder input as well as traffic, safety, environmental, and engineering analysis,” TxDOT spokesperson Brad Wheelis said Aug. 5 in an email to Community Impact Newspaper about the study. “We anticipate the study resulting in a report at the end of the year, and an environmental study will follow.”

TxDOT has said it plans for a potential project along the corridor to connect to the Oak Hill Parkway project, a forthcoming construction initiative set to widen Hwy. 290 and improve intersections to increase mobility through the Y at Oak Hill.

Wheelis said construction on the Oak Hill Parkway project is still scheduled to begin later this year.