la Frontera In the News

Round Rock Leader

January 15, 2004

Highway construction hits high gear in Round Rock

by Marcial Guajardo, Leader Staff

Frank Hruska saw business for his ABC Liquor store steadily increasing for the first six months at its location on FM 1325, just west of Interstate 35. Then construction started on state Highway 45, now evident by the towering row of dirt and tall concrete columns that loom in front of the store.

The bottom fell out for his business, as well. Now, Hruska is among a multitude of business owners hoping to just stick around long enough to see the completion of Highway 45, which could eventually aid business.

"I'm trying to hang in there for the long term," he said.

Last year marked the initial year of the Central Texas Turnpike Project, which includes three major highways currently under construction in Williamson County. The Turnpike Project has promised to improve the area's notorious traffic situation as early as summer 2006, and by the looks of the road work, it will meet that promise.

"We're really excited about the progress that has been made," said Bob Daigh, Austin District engineer for Texas Department of Transportation. "We're confident that the CTTP is on track to meet its scheduled opening in less than four years."

The 65-mile Turnpike Project is scheduled to be completed by December 2007. Nearly 11 miles are expected to open by summer or fall 2006.

Twelve miles of Highway 45 are currently under construction. Work began in February 2003 on the interchange with Loop 1, a north-south highway just west of Interstate 35. That three-mile segment is on schedule to be completed in fall 2006.

Perhaps the most visible segment under construction has been the Highway 45/I-35 interchange. Work there began in July and may open at the same time as the Loop 1 interchange.

A third section, west of the Loop 1 interchange and east of U.S. Highway 183, is expected to be finished by September 2006.

All other segments of Highway 45, which will stretch from west of Highway 183 to state Highway 130 in Pflugerville, are scheduled for completion in mid- to late 2007.

A construction contract for a segment of Highway 45 between CR 170 and High County Boulevard, in southeast Round Rock, is on track to be awarded this month. That would allow for construction to begin in April.

The extension of Loop 1 began in August. The Williamson County portion of that project is anticipated for completion in January 2007.

The much-anticipated arrival of Highway 130, a north-south loop around Round Rock, Austin and other Central Texas cities, is also on schedule. Construction on the northernmost sections, from Georgetown to west of Hutto, began in October at the intersection of I-35 and state Highway 195.

That 14-mile portion is also scheduled to be finished by September 2007.

Construction on the 15-mile segment of Highway 130, from Highway 79 to Highway 183 east of Austin, began in December. That section is also likely be finished in 2007.

TxDOT officials, in its quarterly report released Dec. 18, said the Turnpike Project's budget has been below original estimates. The current budget is $2.7 billion.