By Andy Sevilla.
As Hays County’s population continues exploding, officials are scrambling for needed infrastructure and improvements aimed at addressing the experienced and forthcoming resident influx.
County Commissioners approved funding for the estimated $1.1 million realignment study of FM 150, which according to the county’s 2013 Transportation Plan identifies the need for increased capacity through a potential realignment of the roadway around Kyle, said Arin Gray, project spokesperson.
“The purpose of this study is to examine the possible ways this (capacity) need can be addressed, including doing nothing, expanding existing FM 150 through Kyle, and several alternative new alignments,” Gray said in an email.
Hays County residents attended an open house at Wallace Middle School in Kyle last week to discuss the FM 150 alignment project. (Photo by Andy Sevilla) |
Officials expect the study will yield the most effective solution for FM 150 – no build, improve existing infrastructure or realign the roadway – and that the associated preliminary engineering and environmental clearances will be done so that the project can move forward with full design and implementation.
Initial project indications projected the roadway’s realignment through Yarrington Road, connecting I-35 west to Arroyo Ranch, setting the stage for a Kyle loop. On the east, FM 150 could then either connect to, or provide easy access to the future FM 110 – the San Marcos loop.
At an April 8 public input meeting, residents pushed forward a potential northern Kyle realignment, one that would connect to Kohler’s Crossing, a major roadway traversing the city’s commercial hub, Joe Cantalupo, project manager said in a telephone interview Monday, adding that all options are on the table.
An alignment going through Yarrington Road could help attract commercial interests to the largely undeveloped southern stretch of Kyle, as through-traffic would be diverted to that portion of the city, officials said.
Homeowners along Old Stagecoach Road, however, worry their properties will be negatively impacted and environmental concerns also are high on the radar, Gray said. A southern Kyle alignment could also affect an over 2,000-acre tract of property owned by the Texas General Land Office (GLO), who is planning a massive public/private residential development on that land.
Gray said the GLO has been informed of the proposed project and invited to participate in the planning, but state agency representatives have not yet met with project officials.
Detractors of the realignment also have voiced concern with the existing FM 150 being taken off the state system, thus the roadway could be turned over to cash-strapped Kyle for maintenance.
Gray said that while that is the expectation, that decision has not been decided, as a new alignment for FM 150 has not been finalized, and potential proposed alignments are not expected until the Fall.
Hays County’s population, which is among the top ten fastest growing counties in America, according to project officials, is expected to top 600,000 by 2040, according to state demographers that used post-2000 decade growth trends in the county.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported the county’s population at 157,000 in 2010.
A second related project would connect FM 150 at Arroyo Ranch to Dripping Springs. Hays County is developing a Plan and Nature and Character Study to address capacity and safety along FM 150 from the Arroyo Ranch area northwest to Ranch Road (RR) 12 in Dripping Springs. Once in Dripping Springs, officials said there is an opportunity to connect FM 150 to U.S. 290.
Officials said a public comment period on the proposed FM 150 realignment in Kyle will close April 21. Interested residents can submit written comment to the project team at P.O. Box 5459, Austin, Texas, 78763.
Of the 91 residents that made it to the April 8 public meeting, those that made verbal comments or left a written comment will have their input included in the official record.
