The widening would expand that section of FM 528 from two to four lanes to eliminate the transition from two to four lanes, providing connectivity with the existing four-lane section north of Hwy. 35 and accommodating future traffic demands, according to a TxDOT presentation.
While the traffic flow is stable, by 2034, the level of service is predicted to decrease due to greater congestion unless the road is widened, according to a TxDOT presentation.
The new design also includes a 30-foot-wide raised medium with select openings and turn lanes as well as drainage ditches and a storm sewer system. In addition two more lanes, the new design also features a 10-foot-wide shared-use path and a 6-foot-wide sidewalk.
The project is estimated to cost $8.45 million and will require both federal and state funding but is not funded. Once funded, the TxDOT project team estimates construction will take two years.
In 2009, TxDOT officials proposed an initial design for the project, but due to funding constraints, the project was put on hold from 2010-19. Then, between 2020-22, the design was updated based on earlier public feedback and findings from environmental studies, but TxDOT Public Information Officer Danny Perez said the environmental concerns were secondary to public feedback in the decision to change the design.
“The environmental studies showed that there were few environmental constraints along the 0.6-mile project corridor, such as a one leaking petroleum storage tank site on the south side of FM 528 on its northern end, but that had little influence on the decision to widen and take the right of way to the north side of FM 528,” Perez said.
