In 2008, voters approved $207 million of road bonds for projects in Hays County, and on Nov. 15, state and county officials broke ground on one of those projects at FM 110 and McCarty Lane. The project will connect McCarty Lane in Southeast San Marcos with Hwy. 123, creating a loop around the city's eastern edge.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe said officials expect the project to open to traffic in the fourth quarter of 2013.

"This road has been talked about for well over 30 years," Ingalsbe said. "I recall my dad being on the Commissioners Court in the 1980s, and it was talked about at that time. So we're really excited about this and really looking forward to continuing our talks with TxDOT to see what we can maybe accomplish."

The Texas Department of Transportation will reimburse the city $7.9 million for the project under terms of the state's pass-through finance program. Additionally, the city will collect a $1.9 million federal earmark from 2005.

The City of San Marcos completed final repairs to a 1.2-mile stretch of FM 110 in August.

The county's reimbursement schedule was complicated by the city's involvement in the project because construction began before an environmental study had been done. But in April, the Commissioners Court learned that the county would still receive the $7.9 million reimbursement. TxDOT officials informed the court that the reimbursement for that portion of the road would go toward the Yarrington Road overpass project.

San Marcos High School relocated to its current location off McCarty Lane in 2007. Ingalsbe said the steadily increasing amount of traffic on the road made it a priority the city could not ignore.

"Working with TxDOT, they understood the importance of the city going ahead and doing that section of road because it was such an inadequate roadway," Ingalsbe said. "It was a two-lane roadway. We had a lot of kids and school buses on that roadway, so we knew something had to be done, and the city went ahead and moved forward."