The Texas Department of Transportation is planning to start work this summer on numerous projects to widen and improve highways in Travis and Hays counties, including replacing a bridge in Dripping Springs.
The Texas Transportation Commission, the governing board for TxDOT, approved contracts for funding for the projects totaling $21.3 million, and work is expected to take about a year to complete. Funding for the projects will come from private companies or from TxDOT. Here is a list of projects:
- Hwy. 71 between Pedernales River and Burnet/Blanco county lines: Hunter Industries will construct a center turn lane and shoulders on the 3.4-mile stretch. Construction will begin by June and finish in fall 2022 or early 2023. The project will cost $12.8 million.
- FM 1626 between South First Street and Sombrero Drive in Travis County: Dan Williams Co. begins work this fall and finishes in spring 2023. The nearly $2.3 million project to construct a 12-foot center turning lane and 5-foot shoulder is funded by TxDOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Program.
- RM 150 between Oak Springs Drive and Onion Creek in Hays County: Texas Materials Group will construct a 6-foot shoulder on the section of roadway located south of Dripping Springs and a center turning lane on Darden Hill Road for $3.6 million. The project will start this summer and end in summer 2023.
- CR 190 bridge over Onion Creek in Hays County: This is a bridge replacement project that will cost $1.6 million. TxDOT will pay Austin Underground $1.6 million with state and federal funds. Construction begins this summer and finishes in summer 2023.
- SH 130 through Williamson, Travis and Hays County: TxDOT will switch to energy-efficient lighting on the toll road. This change is expected to save money, but the start date will depend on when the new equipment will be available. According to TxDOT, similar changes are planned for US 183, SH 45 N and the tolled section of MoPac called Loop 1, and the total cost, including bulbs on SH 130, would be $981,485.57.
The work on FM 1626, RM 150 and the CR 190 bridge are being improved because of increased traffic, said Christopher Bishop, public information officer of TXDOT.
“For FM 1626, the project will widen FM 1626 to add a continuous two-way left-turn lane and shoulders,” Bishop said. “The center turn lane will improve turning refuge while the shoulders will provide refuge for disabled vehicles and provide recovery room for a vehicle drifting off the pavement."
