The county is one step closer to implementing the FM 150 Center Turn Lane Project. Commissioners approved the $4,680,893.63 bid from Curran Contract July 7, the lowest bid received.
The project will widen FM 150 between Lox Lane and State Highway 21, a length of 2.7 miles. The roadway would have a 12-foot center turn lane and five-foot shoulders along the majority of the project.
The project would also include extensions of cross culverts, safety improvements of existing side slopes, new side slopes, new signage and pavement markings.
FM 150 is a state road, but the project will be paid for and overseen by the county. This is the second partnership project with the Texas Department of Transportation; the first was FM 967.
Mike Weaver, of Prime Strategies Inc., said the bid was under the proposed budget of $5 million.
“This is a complicated project, with three schools out there, those subdivisions and a church,“ Weaver said. “We want to make sure everyone is aware of what’s going on.”
A public open house meeting for the project is scheduled for July 21 at Tobias Elementary.
Pending TXDOT approval, construction will begin late this year, Weaver said.
County to aid debris removal on private land
The county is creating a private property debris removal program for the neighborhoods affected by the Memorial Day flood.
“People have debris on their private property, whether its big stacks of downed trees or pieces of houses,” said Hays County spokeperson Laureen Chernow.
“It’s not just like we can cut this up and bring it to the curb. It’s massive amounts of stuff.”
Currently, the county can only pick up debris on right-of-ways.
The program will go to FEMA for approval, which will allow the county to be reimbursed for the debris removal, Chernow said.
General council Mark Kennedy said an office will be created at the county courthouse for San Marcos applicants and a booth at the volunteer resource center in Wimberley. A list with the affected streets will show which residences are eligible for the program and each situation will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
“At some point it becomes a public safety issue whether it’s stacks of vegetation or refrigerators,” Chernow said.
