Kyle City Council driving next steps to put Road Bond Projects in the fast lane
The Kyle City Council is hitting the accelerator on getting the city’s historic $294 million road bond program off to a rapid start, according to a published press release.
The Kyle City Council stated it is keeping a commitment it made to citizens last November, after voters approved a $294 million road bond package. After the November 2022 election, city council and staff worked to move the road bond projects forward as quickly as possible. This week council approved a total of five task orders for engineering and design services for three of these projects, including Bunton Creek Road, Bebee Road and Kohlers to Seton.
Additional Road Bond design and engineering contracts, including Old Stagecoach Road and Center Street (off-system), Center Street (on-system), Kyle Parkway/Lehman Road Extension and Windy Hill Road, will be on upcoming council agendas.
Before the Road Bond Projects were brought to voters for approval in a bond election in November 2022, preliminary engineering reports were completed.
Kyle City Council issued $45 million, the first of the bond funds, in January 2023 to fund the remainder of the engineering and design services of the road projects.
Mayor Travis Mitchell said that the city learned many valuable lessons from its first road bond package passed by voters in 2013 and is working to roll out this program more efficiently.
“Here we are just a few months after the 2022 bond was approved, and preliminary engineering has already been completed, allowing us to hit the ground running with design phases,' Mayor Mitchell said. “It just goes to show, we waited a year to take it to the voters so that we could thoroughly prepare this bond package and program and roll it out very intentionally and expeditiously.”
The contracts approved by council include a contract with BGE, INC. in an amount not to exceed $947,810 for engineering services and design of Bunton Creek Road from Lehman Road to Porter Cove; two contracts with AmericanStructurepoint, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $436,194.96 and $788,221.88 for engineering services and design of Bebee Road from the I-35 northbound Frontage Road to Dacy Lane and Bebee Road from Dacy Lane to East of Green Pastures Road; and two contracts with LJA Engineering, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $1,101,207.34 and $2,158,287.27 for engineering services and design of Kohlers Crossing from I-35 northbound Frontage Road to Seton Parkway and Kohlers Crossing from the I-35 southbound Frontage Road to the I-35 northbound Frontage Road.
The city plans to keep citizens involved every step of the way. Plans for public meetings and online interactive opportunities where Kyle residents can express their opinions about roadway design are underway and updates about these projects will be on the city’s bond website, Kyle-Bonds.com, along with the city’s website and social media channels.
The 2022 Road Bond called for $294 million to reconstruct, expand and upgrade specific roadways in the City of Kyle. I t’s also expected that these roads will have a positive impact on the quality of life for Kyle residents by facilitating the addition of amenities including restaurants, shopping, trails, and recreation.
All told, there are eight roadway projects across the city totaling 10.3 miles of new roads, reconstruction, and widening projects to improve the city’s transportation network.
These projects will provide additional capacity to support current and future traffic needs, boost quality of life experiences through economic development, congestion reduce emergency response times, increase vehicular and pedestrian safety, and strengthen connections between the east and west sides of Kyle. For more information, go to KyleBonds.com.
