By Brittany Anderson
KYLE — A $294.4 million road bond could bring some much needed transportation improvements to Kyle, but it will take the power of the voters to make it a reality.
Mayor Travis Mitchell presented to members of the Kyle Chamber of Commerce about Proposition A, the city’s 2022 road bond, during the monthly chamber luncheon on Oct. 25.
Proposition A aims to provide “critical transportation projects” that will decrease congestion and improve overall safety and mobility in the city through a series of eight projects that total 10.3 miles. The projected tax rate increase is nine cents, although Mitchell said that the city anticipates being able to come under budget on many of the projects and potentially under the tax rate.
Kyle City Council members started discussing bringing a road bond to voters back in early 2021. Throughout spring and summer 2022, council and city staff reviewed existing street conditions, heard from engineers and traffic modelers, considered dozens of potential city projects and reviewed data from the city’s 2022 community survey results, in which residents expressed interest in safety, mobility and maintenance of existing roads.
Two bond workshops were held open to the public before the council voted to place Proposition A on the ballot on Aug. 22.
“Kyle was built over county road infrastructure, which was designed for low traffic, two-ways, no turn lanes, no sidewalks, no lights, no utilities, those kinds of things — not really designed for a modern city,” Mitchell said. “As we grow, we have to identify which roads we’re trying to redevelop and build to a city standard.”
Proposition A includes the following projects:
• Bebee Road, $67.1 million, 2.8 miles: Realign the sharp curves of Bebee Road between I-35 and Sunlight Boulevard and upgrade Bebee between I-35 and Goforth Road to a four-lane minor arterial road east of the Seton Parkway extension.
• Bunton Creek Road, $28.7 million, 2.1 miles: Straighten the curves along Bunton Creek Road between Dacy Lane and Goforth Road. The proposed road is a four-lane minor arterial road, and roundabouts will be installed at Lehman and Goforth.
• Center Street, $10.2 million, 0.4 miles: Full reconstruction of Center Street from Veterans Drive to Main Street to a three-lane minor curbed arterial road, and implement intersection upgrades at Veterans Drive and Burleson Street, storm drain, sidewalk, illumination and water/wastewater replacement, and overhead electric conversion to underground.
• Kohler’s Overpass to Seton, $70.4 million, 2.1 miles: Extend Seton Parkway from north of Ascension Seton Hays Hospital to Kohlers Crossing across I-35 and add a four-lane arterial road north of Bebee Road and a three-lane collector road south of Bebee.
• Kyle Parkway/Lehman extension, $42.6 million, 1.3 miles: Extend Lehman Road northeast of Bunton Creek Road and connect to Dacy Lane and extend Kyle Parkway from Dacy Lane to this new segment. Both proposed roads will be four-lane minor arterial roads.
• Marketplace Avenue, $11.3 million, 0.6 miles: Connect the northern and southern segments of Marketplace Avenue by adding a new roadway from Old Bridge Trail to Marketplace Avenue with a four-lane minor arterial road.
• Old Stagecoach Road ($29 million) and Center Street ($12.4 million) to RM 150, 2.2 miles: Implement improvements to Old Stagecoach Road and Center Street, including intersection upgrades, storm drain, sidewalk, illumination and water/wastewater replacement and overhead electric conversion to underground.
• Windy Hill Road, $15.1 million, 0.6 miles: Add capacity from the I-35 frontage road to Purple Martin Avenue. The roadway section will include two lanes in each direction with a center turn lane, and a roundabout is proposed at the Cherrywood intersection.
Mitchell said the city has learned lessons from the 2013 road bond. This time, the bond accounts for right-of-way acquisitions, the relocation of utility easements and “nicer features” such as upgraded fencing, lighting and other pedestrian improvements.
Many of the projects are heavily focused on the east side as it lacks similar infrastructure and developments seen on the west.
“It’s more than just a focus on one side of town or the other; what it's really focused on is connectivity between the sides of town,” Mitchell said. “It is difficult to get people’s minds around the idea of voting for a road to be approved on the other side of town that they don't use. So what our thinking was, is to bring everybody together to solve all of our projects together.”
Mitchell said that the council will prioritize the bond if approved. Instead of working to complete one project at a time as they did with the 2013 bond, they will take a more comprehensive approach by moving forward with all of the projects together. The expected timeline to completion is between five and seven years.
More information on the bond can be found at www.kylebonds.com, including project maps. Early voting continues through Nov. 4 and election day is Nov. 8.
