by Andy Sevilla
This article is the third and final in a series exploring American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding received by Hays County since 2009. Previously, the Hays Free Press explored federal stimulus funds provided to corridor cities (Buda, Kyle and San Marcos) and the county overall, as well as monies for four Hays County school districts. Here we report on funding for transportation projects that flowed through the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) for its service area, of which Hays is a part.
The federal government awarded the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) $27 million for transportation projects. CAMPO is the organization that coordinates regional transportation planning for Hays County and surrounding local governments.
Hays County received $7,464,218 of CAMPO’s Recovery Act money for transportation projects in Buda, Kyle and San Marcos.
When the money was awarded in 2009, CAMPO served Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties; the planning organization now serves six counties, to include Bastrop, Burnett and Caldwell, though they did not receive any American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding.
In Buda, the Cement Plant Road Overpass was completed at a cost of $5,796,648, according to CAMPO records. Kyle’s Spring Branch Drive was restriped to include bicycle lanes at a total cost of $22,017.
Also in Hays County, a center turn lane was added on Ranch Road 12 at a cost of $998,761, and a left turn lane and shoulders were added to High Road at State Highway 21 at a cost of $646,792.
CAMPO expended $12,648,675 and $7,083,604 in ARRA funding for road projects in Travis and Williamson Counties, respectively.
CAMPO also spent $2 million on the HERO (Highway Emergency Response Operator) Program – a free roadside assistance program that provides aid to stranded motorists, minimizes traffic congestion and improves highway safety along IH-35 – for Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties, per the CTRMA (Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority).
HERO patrols a 55-mile section of IH-35 that runs from Kyle (Yarrington Road) to Georgetown (SH 130 North), and a 12-mile stretch of US 183, between IH-35 and Lakeline Boulevard, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, according to the mobility authority’s website.
The program is being paid for through a combination of federal and state funds, and it costs roughly $2.3 million a year to provide the service, the website states.
CAMPO funded 25 total projects in Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties, expending $29,196,497.
The purpose of CAMPO is to coordinate regional transportation planning with counties, cities, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro), the Capital Area Rural Transportation System (CARTS), Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and other transportation providers in the region and to approve the use of federal transportation funds within the region, according to its website.
CAMPO is presently developing is 2040 plan, and it estimates that Hays County’s population could reach 600,000 residents, if growth trends persist at the rate of the post-2000 decade.
