Two construction projects that are nearing completion on Shell and D.B. Wood roads have acted as a catalyst for improvements along the roadways.

The new campus for McCoy Elementary School that Georgetown ISD is building on Bellaire Drive is set to be finished in time for the first day of school, and the city plans to finish Fire Station No. 5 off of D.B. Wood Road by mid-August.

Ed Polasek, transportation services director for the City of Georgetown, said the two projects will help with traffic flow once the school and fire station are open.

Georgetown City Council awarded the $583,321 contract for the projects to Joe Bland Construction LP on April 24, and the city authorized the contractor to start in early June.

Polasek said construction on the intersection improvements at Shell Road and Bellaire Drive is expected to be finished by the first week of August. The project consists of adding turn lanes for vehicles traveling north on Shell Road to turn onto Bellaire Drive or Westbury Lane. There will also be a left-turn lane added for vehicles heading south turning into Bellaire Drive.

On D.B. Wood Road, the city plans to extend the improvements it made at the road's intersection with Williams Drive down past where the new fire station is being built.

The road will be widened to include two additional travel lanes and a median. Work is expected to be finished by the end of August, Polasek said.