Work on Brushy Creek Road to start this summer

By Joseph M. de Leon Friday, 19 February 2010

CEDAR PARK — After a four-year delay, Cedar Park officials expect crews to start work on improvements to Brushy Creek Road this summer.

Construction on the two-lane road between Parmer Lane and Toll 183A is expected to start by July. Improvements on Brushy Creek Road east of Parmer Lane to Arrow Head Trail are in the design phase, and a start date for construction has not yet been determined.

The stretch from Toll 183A to Parmer will cost $8.7 million and will include converting the road to four lanes with a wider outside lane to make room for cyclists, adding a raised median, installing lights and building sidewalks.

The wider lanes and sidewalks will make the stretch a part of the city’s hike and bike trail and will make it safer for cyclists to get across the neighborhood.

The road was delayed during the environmental review process, which is required of any road work that is funded with federal or state money.

Darwin Marchell, director of engineering for Cedar Park, said this review process can add many months or even years of waiting to projects.

“It’s out of our control once it goes into the state and federal review system—it’s hard to get it done in a short amount of time,” Marchell said. “It can be really frustrating.”

In November, Leander City Council voted against accepting about $2.13 million in grants from the Texas Department of Transportation to avoid the requisite environmental study that came along with it. The study could have delayed the project for more than 18 months, with no guarantee the grant would be awarded. Council opted instead to pay for the full cost of improvements to Crystal Falls Parkway with local taxpayer money.

Marchell said the road improvement was prompted because of increasing traffic concerns related to growth, which includes nearby schools. Brushy Creek Road offers access to Cox Elementary, Vista Ridge High School, Henry Middle School and John Gupton Stadium.

Cedar Park City Manager Brenda Eivens said the project will change the way people travel through the area and could open the way for future developments.

“When it’s done, it’s going to be such a nice road and really improve accessibility to the neighborhoods and schools,” she said. “To have these enhancements to benefit the bike and pedestrian traffic will be wonderful.”

(See “County pushes for changes to environmental review” on Page One for more on the review process.)

Brushy Creek Road project

Road improvements will include:

• Widening the existing two-lane undivided roadway to a four-lane divided roadway
• Adding wide outside lanes for bicyclists and motorists to share
• Building a raised median, lighting and sidewalks

Cost of the project: $8.7 million

• City of Cedar Park: $5.25 million
• Cedar Park Community Development Corporation (4B): $1 million
• Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization: $2.45 million

Source: City of Cedar Park

Construction milestones

• June 2006: Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization allocates $2.45 million
• April 2007: City hires a contractor to start environmental assessment to qualify for grant
• Jan. 2008: Assessment submitted to Texas Department of Transportation
• July 2009: Assessment submitted to Texas Parks and Wildlife and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
• Sept. 2009: Assessment submitted to Federal Highway Administration
• Dec. 2009: Cedar Park receives approval of environmental assessment
• April 2010: Cedar Park officials plan to complete public input phase
• July 2010: Construction expected to start
• Spring 2012: Road work to be complete