Town Council discussed the cost and what’s included in the agreement at the Nov. 17 meeting, but no action was taken.
What’s happening?
The advance funding agreement will include median breaks to enter the Waterbrook neighborhood and Point Bank, and infrastructure to add landscaping, Director of Community Development Harrison Wicks said.
The cost for infrastructure, such as irrigation sleeves, is estimated to be $468,450, and the cost for both median breaks is estimated to be $150,000, the latter of which may be reimbursed by the Waterbrook and Point Bank property owners, Wicks said.
“Not only do we want to have landscaping along the medians in the middle of the road, we want to be able to have an option to put landscaping on the west side of US 377 between the highway and the railroad tracks,” he said.
The agreement also includes direct and indirect state costs, which are based on percentages of the construction cost, according to town documents.
The total cost for these improvements has not been finalized, and town staff will bring the final agreement to council for approval at the Dec. 13 regular meeting. At that time, town staff will propose using street sales tax funds as the funding source for the projects, Town Manager Mike Sims said.
The discussion
Town staff estimated a cost of $2.3 million for the advance funding agreement, which included $1.1 million for stamped concrete for when the medians are less than 7 feet wide. That portion of the proposed agreement made up 49% of the total costs of the enhancements, according to town documents.
“I think the stamped concrete looks good for about two years,” council member Casey Stewart said. “Then after that third year, it’s going to start cracking and falling off, and soon we’re going to have just a concrete median. It is shocking that the bulk of the [$2.3] million was the stamped concrete. I’d rather save that for putting irrigation in later.”
Council agreed to remove the $1.1 million in stamped concrete and have regular concrete for when the medians become too narrow for landscaping. This decreased the total, but because some of the costs were based on percentages, town staff will recalculate and bring the new total for approval Dec. 13, Sims said.
Looking ahead
TxDOT officials estimate the US 377 project will go out to bid in June, according to town documents. Sims estimates TxDOT will start preparing the site and getting resources together for construction Oct. 26, 2026.
