Williamson County (Northern Austin Metro) Projects

[thisdj78]

Kenney Fort Boulevard extension between Forest Creek Drive and SH45 opens to public

https://www.roundrocktexas.gov/news/kenney-fort-boulevard-extension-between-forest-creek-drive-and-sh45-opens-to-public/

[thisdj78]

SH 130 in WilCo will be widened to 3 lanes after funding approval

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/sh-130-wilco-expanding-into-williamson-county

[The Ghostbuster]

Couldn't the proposed widening of TX 130 have continued a short distance further south to the northern segment of TX 45?

[thisdj78]

Couldn't the proposed widening of TX 130 have continued a short distance further south to the northern segment of TX 45?

I wondered that too. Only explanation I can think of is that maybe funding has already been set for widening from Dessau/685 to Gattis prior to this article, or they misspoke and the new expansion will include the segment south of Gattis rd.

[longhorn]

It makes sense (I know this is TxDot) that this expansion is from 45 to I-35 north of Georgetown. And while we are at the intersection of I-35/130 and 195, can we fix the crisscrossing that happens between the I-35 to 195 traffic and the 130-I-35 traffic. Computer modeling over 20 years ago did not see this being a problem?

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.6898939,-97.6697256,3812m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.692098,-97.6552683,3a,35.9y,15.21h,93.69t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sX2QKr9yIgIcnvyPisEEgYA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-3.6904068259029117%26panoid%3DX2QKr9yIgIcnvyPisEEgYA%26yaw%3D15.21417901635715!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[thisdj78]

It makes sense (I know this is TxDot) that this expansion is from 45 to I-35 north of Georgetown. And while we are at the intersection of I-35/130 and 195, can we fix the crisscrossing that happens between the I-35 to 195 traffic and the 130-I-35 traffic. Computer modeling over 20 years ago did not see this being a problem?

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.6898939,-97.6697256,3812m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

https://www.google.com/maps/@30.692098,-97.6552683,3a,35.9y,15.21h,93.69t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sX2QKr9yIgIcnvyPisEEgYA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-3.6904068259029117%26panoid%3DX2QKr9yIgIcnvyPisEEgYA%26yaw%3D15.21417901635715!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

I don't know why they didn't make SH130 end right where SH95 crosses I-35. Could have made a multilevel interchange instead of the crazy merge situation.

I do know that there are plans to extend SH195 past I-35 to SH95 north of Taylor, so I wonder how that will impact the current intersection there.

[MaxConcrete]

The RM 2243 project has received a FONSI (Finding of no significant impact). It is planned to be a future 4-lane freeway with continuous frontage roads.

Announcement

More info on the Wilco project site.

This project is among the Wilco future freeways most likely to be built. In the short term, the FONSI will enable ROW acquisition by TxDOT. The Wilco site says phase 1 will start in summer 2025. No details are given, but I presume phase 1 will be one side of the frontage roads, to establish the new alignment of the corridor on the west end. With I-35 consuming most funding in Austin for about another 7 years, I don't expect any TxDOT-funded construction until the 2030s.

As an interesting observation on the east end of the project, the preliminary schematic showed both frontage roads dropping down into the quarry. The final schematic shows the frontage roads on the existing ground level of RM 2243.

[thisdj78]

I drove down Chandler road for the first time in several months and looks like they have started a badly needed widening project (it's currently a 2 lane road). Long term plan is for it to be a controlled access freeway, so I'm not sure if they are widening it to a frontage road configuration with a wide median for future lanes or are they simply just adding adjacent lanes:

https://www.wilcotx.gov/839/Chandler-Road