Project Background
In 2011, voters approved funding for “Mobility/safety improvements to be determined by County in partnership with local bicycle advocacy groups”.
The Bicycle Safety Task Force (BSTF) was formed and identified Circle Drive and Thomas Springs Road, among others, as priority roadways to receive funds for bicycle safety improvements.
In 2017, voters approved funding to add bike lanes to Circle Drive and Thomas Springs Road.
The County has completed improvements to Circle Drive and is currently designing improvements to Thomas Springs Road.
The goal of the Thomas Springs Road Bicycle Safety Project is to enhance safety for drivers, bicyclists, and adjacent property owners and residents while minimizing the disturbance to the surrounding properties and environment.
Proposed Improvements
Thomas Springs Road is currently a narrow, two-lane road that carries a significant amount of vehicular and bicycle traffic. The road has no shoulders requiring vehicles to share the lane with bicycles.
This project will enhance safety for drivers, bicyclists, and residents and includes the following improvements:
- Construct improvements to allow for 10-foot travel lane, a 2-foot buffer, and a 6-foot bike lane on each side of the roadway
- Adjust center line to improve sight distance
- Incorporate required drainage improvements and enhance storm water quality
- Repave Thomas Springs Road from SH 71 to Circle Drive
- Improve turn lane configuration at Thomas Springs Road and SH 71
DESIGN UPDATES
The County revised initial design plans in response to concerns from property owners.
Property Owner Concerns:
- Amount of additional right of way proposed to construct the safety improvements
- Number of trees impacted
- Wider 12-foot lanes would encourage speeding
County Revisions:
- Redesigned the drainage, where possible, to reduce the right of way footprint and tree impacts
- Updated the roadway configuration to propose 10-foot travel lanes and a 6-foot bike lane with a 2-foot buffer rather than 12-foot travel lanes with a 6-foot shoulder
Updated Design Plans
Click the button above to open a pdf of the updated design plans. Once open, you can use the plus (+) sign to zoom in and minus (-) sign to zoom out. You can also download the design plans by clicking the download arrow at the top right of the page.
Updated Roadway Configuration
- Right of way width varying from 65 to 110 feet
- Two 10-foot travel lanes
- A 6-foot bike lane with a 2-foot buffer on each side of the roadway
- Upgraded drainage ditches and culverts
- Maintain existing 35 mph speed limit
Construction
Construction is anticipated to begin in 2023 & is expected to take 15 months to complete, weather and field conditions permitting.
Construction is planned to occur in two phases.
Work for both phases will generally progress in 500 foot increments.
Work hours will generally be Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. & crews will restore two-way travel at the end of each work day.
Flaggers will be present to help direct travelers when the roadway is reduced to one lane only.
Driveway and side street access will be maintained and property and business owners will be contacted to coordinate driveway work and impacts.
Next Steps
Following the public meeting, Travis County and the design team will review and consider all submitted comments and finalize the design. A meeting summary with all submitted comments will be prepared and shared with the community.
The County will continue to work with impacted property owners and move forward with right of way negotiations and hiring a contractor for construction.
Project Timeline
Comments
All comments must be submitted by Friday, April 22, 2022 to be included in the official meeting summary. You can submit comments through a variety of methods.
Email a comment to ThomasSpringsRd@cdandp.com
Mail a comment to Thomas Springs Road Bicycle Safety Project, PO Box 5459, Austin, TX 78763
Leave a message or text your comment to 512-831-6701
Contact Us
Phone: 512-831-6701
Email: ThomasSpringsRd@cdandp.com