Williams Drive Widening Update

Project Overview:

Williams Drive/RM 2338, which is currently a two-lane road, will be widened to four lanes with a center turn lane from DB Wood Road to Ronald Reagan Boulevard. The completed roadway will continue to be a rural section including wide shoulders and no curbs. The project is being completed in two phases.

Phase 1 from DB Wood Road to FM 3405 is a joint project between the City of Georgetown and Williamson County. The two entities are funding the project due to the recision of funding from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

Phase 2 is from FM 3405 to Ronald Reagan Boulevard and is funded through the TxDOT Pass-Through Financing Program. The program allows counties to front the money for the design and construction of road projects with the state reimbursing the county for most of the expenses, almost 90 percent of the cost.  Williamson County will count the number of cars using the improved roads and TxDOT will use the traffic counts to pay the county back semi-annually over a 10 to 20 year period.

Status:

Construction has begun on Phase 1 with utility relocations currently underway in the segment from DB Wood to FM 3405. Road construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2009. Phase 2 is in the environmental permitting process with a public hearing anticipated in the last quarter of 2008.

Traffic impacts:

Williams Drive/RM 2338 will remain open to traffic during the construction phases with one traffic lane open in each direction at all times.

Funding:

Phase 1 is estimated to cost $22 million. Of that total cost, $8.8 is to be funded with federal revenue through an award by CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization). Of the remaining $13.2 million project cost, the City is providing funding for 65 percent ($8.6 million), which covers the segment that is in City Limits from DB Wood Road to Jim Hogg Road. The County is providing funding for remaining 35 percent ($4.6 million), which covers the segment that is in the County from Jim Hogg Road to FM 3405. Note that the City of Georgetown has committed to funding the project, so it is not included in the road bond package on the November 4, 2008 ballot.

The preliminary cost estimate for Phase 2 is $10.4 million to be paid for from the County revenue bonds and reimbursed by TxDOT through the pass-through financing.

Project timeline:

Construction has begun on the segment from DB Wood to FM 3405, with roadway construction expected to start in the first quarter of 2009. The entire project is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2011.