Pflugerville officials OK design work for potential 'innovative intersection' at East Pecan, Weiss Lane

The intersection of East Pecan Street and Weiss Lane may eventually be an "innovative intersection," the same kind as the recently completed intersection at Pecan Street and FM 685.

At a May 10 meeting, Pflugerville City Council approved a $92,307 agreement with design firm Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc. for additional design work related to the intersection.

Kimley-Horn is already in the process of conducting engineering design work for improvements to East Pecan from Sun Light Near Way to Weiss Lane. The project will include widening East Pecan to six lanes as well as improvements to the intersection with Weiss.

Kimley-Horn's traffic analysis on the intersection—which will also include Cameron Road on the south after a future realignment project—determined that even after improvements, a traditional intersection would experience significant traffic congestion by 2042.

The additional $92,307 contract will allow Kimley-Horn to look into whether an innovative intersection could better accommodate the anticipated traffic volumes.

Though public opinion on the innovative intersection at Pecan and FM 685 has been mixed, Council Member Jim McDonald said he thinks the design has ultimately made the intersection more safe.

"You see the anecdotal evidence where people are like, 'Oh, I almost had someone hit me head-on because they came the wrong way,' but it's always 'almost' because people are managing that at a much slower rate of speed," McDonald said.

The services covered in the agreement also cover right-of-way acquisition so that if the city finds the results of the analysis desirable, Kimley-Horn can assist in acquiring the necessary right of way before the land is developed.