O’Connor and Great Oaks drives Round Rock

O’Connor and Great Oaks drives Round Rock

By Rob Heidrick Friday, 03 April 2009

O’Connor Drive extension

A planned extension of O’Connor Drive from RM 620 to Toll 45 will give Round Rock drivers the option to bypass traffic congestion where the two highways intersect. Williamson County, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization are working together to fund the project, which has been in the works since 2000, Williamson County Precinct One Commissioner Lisa Birkman said. Funding shortages and environmental issues have contributed to the delay, Birkman said, but the environmental permitting process is nearly complete.

O’Connor Drive currently ends at the west side of RM 620. The project will extend the road about 1.5 miles southeast of that intersection, connecting it to Toll 45.

Birkman said the project could help relieve major traffic buildup in the area, which has worsened since the extension was initially proposed in Williamson County’s 2000 road bond package.

“It used to be, before 45 was built, that you’d come down O’Connor to 620 and it would be difficult to take a left to get to the freeway. Now it’s backed up to the left and to the right because of people going both ways,” Birkman said. “Having a way for people to get off 620 and get to 45 without having to go down 620 would be a huge improvement in the area.”

The county is contributing $7 million for road construction, and CAMPO will pay $5 million. TxDOT will fund construction of the interchange at O’Connor and Toll 45, including elevated bridges and new access roads, for an expected cost of between $25 million and $35 million, Birkman said.

Ramps at the interchange will be tolled, but the fee has not yet been determined.

Williamson County spokeswoman Connie Watson said the thoroughfare is likely to attract new businesses once drivers start using the road, and residents will be able to reach these destinations from adjoining roads without having to pay the toll.

Plans for the interchange are expected to be complete by the end of August, and Birkman said the county hopes to begin work by the end of this year. Construction is expected to last 16 months.

Great Oaks Drive extension

Great Oaks Drive, which currently ends just east of its intersection with RM 620, will be lengthened to meet the O’Connor extension once it is complete. The road passes through Highland Horizon, a 193-acre mixed-use subdivision under development at the intersection of Great Oaks and RM 620. Development firm Highland Resources Inc. is overseeing the project and coordinated the first phase of construction on the four-lane road. The county will eventually complete the remaining stretch of Great Oaks to connect to O’Connor.

Highland Resources Vice President David Bodenman said about half of the development will be occupied by single-family homes and the other half will be commercial property, including multifamily units. About 200 residential lots have been completed, and retail space will occupy the property’s frontage along RM 620. Bodenman said the project’s timeline has not been finalized.

Preliminary planning stages are underway for one of the other potential connecting roads, Arterial C, which could link the O’Connor extension to a point farther north on RM 620. No route or timeline has been set for the project.