Cedar Park supports traffic, revenue study for potential tollway at Ronald Reagan Boulevard

Recent action from the Cedar Park City Council may help advance the potential construction of a tollway along Ronald Reagan Boulevard.

At a March 27 meeting, council approved a resolution supporting a traffic and revenue study by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, or CTRMA. The study would assess the feasibility of building a toll road along Ronald Reagan Boulevard from RM 1431, or Whitestone Boulevard, to I-35.

What’s happening

Williamson County has proposed transforming Ronald Reagan Boulevard into an eight-lane, controlled-access roadway from RM 1431 in Cedar Park to I-35 in Jarrell. The roughly 30-mile project is broken up into five segments, including Segment A, running 7.67 miles from RM 1431 to Hwy. 29.

The county funded a corridor study from RM 1431 to north of the Cedar Park city limit and has created a schematic design for the project, said Randy Lueders, the city’s director of engineering and capital projects.

The design includes one toll lane in each direction at RM 1431 that would widen into two raised toll lanes in each direction moving north, Lueders said. At least two or three frontage lanes would run in each direction alongside full access intersections.

The project would not reduce the road’s existing frontage lanes, which would remain free to drivers, he said.

City staff recommended supporting a traffic and revenue study by CTRMA to further evaluate the project alongside plans to expand Parmer Lane, according to city documents. The intersection of Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Parmer Lane would include a grade separated interchange, Lueders said.

The update

Five of the six council members and Mayor Jim Penniman-Morin voted to support the CTRMA conducting a traffic and revenue study to assess the feasibility of adding Ronald Reagan Boulevard to its system.

The study—funded by the CTRMA—would assess traffic flow and projected revenue generation to inform decisions about the project’s viability and toll rates, Lueders said. Similar studies have taken around a year to complete, said Bob Daigh, senior director of infrastructure for Williamson County.

Council’s vote did not commit the city to the project’s design and construction. If council approved the project, it would be funded by the CTRMA using toll revenue, Lueders said.

Segment A of the project is estimated to cost $532 million, Daigh said.

“It’s not going to happen tomorrow,” Daigh said. “We’re just talking about the first baby step here. It is going to take many years to bring this project to fruition.”

The impact

The Ronald Reagan tollway could bring many benefits to the area, Daigh said, including:

• Increased mobility for emergency services
• Improved general mobility for citizens
• Enhanced opportunities for mass transit

Cedar Park’s population is expected to grow to 92,000 by 2030, according to the presentation.

What council members are saying

Council member Heather Jefts expressed concerns about the project before voting against supporting the traffic and revenue study.

“'I’m not sure how what you're saying in any way helps the citizens... or the businesses of Cedar Park by turning that corridor into what looks like 183... where you have a monstrosity of a highway and very little access between east and west, and a whole lot of traffic that blows by Cedar Park rather than stopping and shopping,” Jefts said.

Some council members said they felt the traffic and revenue study was needed and long overdue. Without the project going through, council member Kevin Harris said he believed the city would experience gridlock amid population growth.

“I can see the throughput need, and I think if it's done smartly, you still get the free access on the side,” Harris said. “Folks are going to travel. We position ourselves as a city to be a destination.”