A fundamental responsibility of Travis County is building and maintaining roads, bridges and parks. Both aging infrastructure and population growth create demand for big, expensive infrastructure projects. Travis County addresses these needs regionally with federal and state transportation dollars by participating in the Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. We address them locally with bonds.
In 2017, Travis County voters approved $302 million in bonds, and most projects are on schedule for completion by 2022. These projects include road-safety improvements — including for cyclists — drainage improvements to address an expected increase in flooding, and ball fields! As you can imagine, these projects are complicated and are often inconvenient and intrusive for nearby neighbors. My job as a County Commissioner is to represent the people impacted by the projects and to steward the resources to get projects completed on time and on budget. I rarely hear from constituents who support projects (except parks), and I often hear from folks with concerns about the inconvenience caused by construction, acquisition of right-of-way, and the loss of heritage oaks.
Road and bridge projects in Travis County Precinct 3 are particularly difficult because of topography, urban-rural tension, and environmental sensitivity. My team is working closely with county staff and neighbors affected by a low-water crossing improvement project at Pedernales Canyon Trail, a road- and bicycle-safety project along Thomas Springs Road, and the new Bee Creek Sportsplex in Lakeway. Both the Pedernales Canyon Trail and Thomas Springs Road as designed have a larger impact on surrounding property than originally understood by voters, so my office is working to get questions answered and modifications to the design if possible. The Bee Creek Sportsplex needs additional funds to complete the vision of 7 ballfields, so my office is working with County staff to identify funding to fulfill the project. I welcome all questions and am committed to safe, efficient and sustainable roads, bridges and parks.
If you’d like to visit with me or my staff about Travis County road and bridge projects or any other issue affecting you, please visit my contact page on this site or my Commissioner’s page at TravisCounty.gov.