Deteriorating pavement conditions along a well traveled road in west Kyle is pushing city officials to move forward with fixing it.
By securing developer contributions, Kyle plans to cash fund $7 million on engineering for reconstruction of Old Stagecoach Road from Post Road to FM 2770, along with reconstructing Center Street from Old Stagecoach Road to Rebel Road.
Kyle plans to cash fund $7 million on engineering for reconstruction of Old Stagecoach Road from Post Road to FM 2770, along with reconstructing Center Street from Old Stagecoach Road to Rebel Road.
Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell believes the fixes, which could begin within a year’s time, could alleviate issues in the area.
Mitchell said the city has received many complaints regarding the state of the roadway due to increased traffic. Recently, Mitchell said the road is getting “torn up” because of new developments that are coming into the area.
Mitchell cited construction taking place in the Blanco River Ranch subdivision, a 2,100-plus home development, and Cypress Forest, a development that will hold 340 homes when it’s built out. Both subdivisions are located on Old Stagecoach Road.
“A huge section of the road is going to be built on their (developers’) dime,” Mitchell said. “By us putting that together, to have the cash reserved, we will be able to prioritize this.”
Leon Barba, Kyle city engineer, said Old Stagecoach Road is in “horrible shape,” with parts of Center Street equally deteriorating. Barba said both roads needed to be reconstructed “years ago,” when the city was eyeing reconstruction two years ago.
In April 2016, Kyle conducted an assessment that cost around $80,000 that graded the state of roads in the city. Barba said roads that scored 70 or higher out of a 100 scale were considered good.
Parts of Old Stagecoach scored anywhere from 25 to 40. The roads were scored prior to developments moving in and wastewater line fixes the city has recently experienced.
“It’s bad and it’s rough and getting rougher,” Barba said.
What the reconstruction could look like, as well as what improvements could be made, is still in flux.
Barba said the city has not decided what fixes are needed on the road. City officials will assess whether they must obtain right-of-way for the project, along with looking at different cross-sections of the road. Barba said the city might explore the idea of roundabouts at several sections.
A possible timeframe for the Old Stagecoach project could come after the start of the long-awaited Lehman Road project, which is slated to begin in late 2019, Barba said.
Reconstruction of Lehman Road is one of the city’s $35 million road bond approved by voters in 2013. City officials expect the final two projects under the 2013 road bond, which includes a rebuild of Burleson Street, to be completed by early 2020.
But with the plethora of projects happening at the same time, City Manager Scott Sellers said officials realize it could create stress on commuters.
Sellers said the city tries to balance road construction projects with adjacent activities and the impact it could have on neighborhoods. Sellers said the city tries to mitigate hardship on residents “as much as possible.”
However, Sellers said city officials “felt good” about business’ and citizens’ responses to roads that have so far been completed.
He said it was critical to have roads that look amazing and people feel good driving on them.
“There were a few bumps in the road, so to speak, but the temporary pain was minor to the long term reward,” Sellers said. “The positive feedback outweighs the negative that is only in the moment.”
