'Most Significant Transportation Project In History Of Cedar Park' Unveiled

CEDAR PARK, TX — Calling it "the most significant transportation project in the history of Cedar Park," city officials staged a ribbon cutting on Wednesday marking the completion of improvements along RM 1431, known as Whitestone Boulevard.

The $22 million project widens the once-rural highway to a six-lane divided road between Market Street and Sam Bass Road, a project prompted by the city's consistent growth.

City officials were joined by Williamson County leaders and Texas Department of Transportation officials to cut the ribbon on the 1431 Pass Through Project at the southwest corner of Toro Grande and East Whitestone Boulevard. Transportation officials labeled the project as the most significant in the city's history.

Transportation officials noted Cedar Park has twice been named the fourth-fastest growing city in the country in recent years, with a population that has grown more than 1,000 percent since 1980 and more then doubled in the last decade.

With that growth has come decreased mobility and safety along the primary east-west corridor, officials said. The project's aim is to improve safety and mobility along RM 1431 through the widening of the highway to a six-lane divided urban section from Parmer Lane/Ronald Reagan Boulevard to Sam Bass Road.

The road now features a Continuous Flow Intersection (CFI) at Parmer/Ronald Reagan and 1431, along with raised medians, curb and gutter, lighting, turn lanes and drainage improvements.

The project was completed through a Pass Through financing agreement with TxDOT, in which the city was responsible for funding the up-front design and construction costs of approximately $22 million, transportation officials said. Under the agreement TxDOT will reimburse the city for 80 percent of construction costs in the form of annual reimbursements beginning next year, officials noted.

Williamson County contributed $1.15 million towards the increased costs related to the construction of the CFI, and TxDOT paid for the construction administrative costs of about $1.7 million and contributed about $100,000 for sidewalks, officials said.

The design engineer was Klotz Associates and the Contractor was Hunter Industries.

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