Rollingwood presents final Infrastructure Improvements Plan report totaling $17.9 million

The city of Rollingwood is progressing toward addressing its infrastructure needs, as City Council reviewed and approved the final report of its Infrastructure Improvements Plan during a virtual May 20 meeting.

Officials contracted services from K. Friese & Associates. The civil engineering firm conducted a needs assessment throughout the city. According to the report, the K. Freise team spent the first half of 2019 collecting data through public surveys, open houses, documented drainage concerns and extensive fieldwork.

K. Friese initially presented the report in February, highlighting Rollingwood’s priority areas for drainage improvements. Among the 23 areas of interest, the Bee Caves Road low water crossing, Edgegrove Drive and Nixon Drive were ranked highest.

Mayor Michael Dyson said the lapse in time between February's presentation and May's was due to complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The updated report reflects a cost decrease from February’s presentation, which estimated the total cost of projects at $19.72 million. The change in cost was due to a previous spreadsheet error, according to Caroline LaFollette of K. Friese.

The plan’s cost summary is now projected at $17.9 million, not including costs associated with improvements on Bee Caves Road or Rollingwood Drive South. The report states the projects could require significant involvement from the Texas Department of Transportation.

LaFollette also provided further clarification on how the report’s conceptual model incorporated impervious cover, which is any surface that cannot absorb or infiltrate water.

“The model used a conservative approach that basically treated the entire city as impervious,” LaFollette said. “It routed all of the stormwater over land and didn’t allow for infiltration of the water into the soil.”

Funding for the identified projects has not been determined by city officials. It is yet to be determined if council will pursue every project in the plan.