RM 1431

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

One of the most irregular intersections in Burnet County could soon see upgrades, including a new right turn lane and signal improvements, after the Texas Transportation Commission approved a 10-year state transportation plan last week.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

A project to reconstruct the intersection of US 281 and Ranch to Market Road 1431 has been added to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) for 2019-2022, CAMPO officials said this week.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Ask anywhere in the state of Texas where the next road project needs to be and drivers will tell you it needs to be on the road they travel.

Regular travelers on Ranch to Market Road 1431 should be pleased to learn one of their “most needed” projects is moving to the front of the line—slow moving traffic turnouts.

Check the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Project Tracker and you now will find them scheduled between Lago Vista and Marble Falls as Tier 2 Projects.

The safety measure as been for more than seven years a campaign of Al Schwerman of Lago Vista, a resident who travels frequently between Lago Vista and Marble Falls.

“People are always asking me about it because they know I've been interested, so I was pleased when I called TxDOT recently and they said it was on track for July 2019 and maybe sooner,” said Schwerman.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Travelers of Ranch to Market Road (RM) 1431 west from Marble Falls can expect two new traffic signals.

One of them, a new caution light at the intersection of Burnet County Road 120 and Burnet County Road 125/Highland Drive, the entrance to the City of Highland Haven, is under construction.

“This is a safety issue that Highland Haven has been requesting from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for several years,” said Olan Kelley, mayor of city.

“Be sure to pass along your thanks to Burnet County Judge James Oakley, and Cathy Kratz, the Burnet Area engineer for TxDOT and Burnet County Precinct 1 Commissioner Jim Luther Jr., who have been working to improve the safety at this intersection as well as others in Burnet County,” Kelley added in a message to Highland Haven citizens.

By Phil Reynolds

The Highlander

Facing a hostile, but polite, audience that nearly filled the 500-capacity sanctuary at Kingsland’s First Baptist Church Tuesday evening, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials agreed to reconsider a proposal to restripe Ranch-to-Market Road 1431 in Llano County.

The project would have made the four-lane highway into a two-lane highway with intermittent passing and turning lanes, a change TxDOT engineers said would improve the safety of the road.

By Phil Reynolds

The Highlander

A revolution may be brewing in Llano County over what some residents perceive as an unneeded and unwanted change to Ranch to Market Road 1431 and an attitude bordering on contempt for local officials by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

At issue is a plan to change the ranch road from four lanes to what is known as a “super two” highway – one lane in each direction with intermittent turn lanes and passing lanes where engineers think they’re needed. The approximately 30 miles of Texas 71 between US 281 south of Marble Falls to Texas 16 in Llano is an example of that type of highway.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

A Georgetown teen escaped serious injury Monday night, June 20, when his car landed in standing water in a ravine off Ranch to Market Road 1431 east of Marble Falls.