$23.4 million contract awarded for construction of Kenney Fort Boulevard segments 2 and 3

The Round Rock City Council voted unanimously to award a contract for just over $23 million to J.D. Abrams, LP for the construction and engineering of the second and third segments of the Kenney Fort Boulevard project Sept. 23.

Once completed, Kenney Fort Boulevard will be one of few north-south thoroughfares in the city with a limited number of intersections, which Transportation Director Gary Hudder said will affect the quickness with which drivers can cut through the city.

"The nice thing about a project like this is it's what we call a greenfield project, the vast majority of it is built where there's no traffic," Hudder said during the packet briefing Sept. 21. "There's no conflict, so the contractor can move through without a lot of headaches. The biggest issues for us are going to be intersection design."

J.D. Abrams, LP is the same contractor carrying out the University East project on University Boulevard to widen the west-east passage to a six-lane road.

Kenney Fort Boulevard ends at Forest Creek Drive. This project would extend the street through an intersection at Gattis School Road, all the way to SH 45. The contract is funded by a combination of Round Rock Transportation and Economic Development Corporation, Self-financed Water, Federal Surface Transportation Block Grant monies.