Slab Road

Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

The Texas Department of Transportation opted to re-open Slab Road (Ranch Road 3404) in Kingsland Nov. 13, despite concerns about whether the river-swollen roadway was safe for vehicle traffic.

Following the Oct. 16 Llano River flooding originating from Junction-area stormwater runoff, officials closed the roadway due to swift water and dangerous conditions. The closure changed Llano Independent School District bus routes and prompted commuters to search for detours.

Slab Road is one of two main thoroughfares in the Kingsland community which takes commuters south to Texas 71. The other roadway, Ranch-to-Market 2900, was closed due to flood waters washing away the bridge, at confluence of the Llano River and Lake LBJ. TXDOT has placed reconstruction of a new RM 2900 bridge on a six-month timeline for completion.

Connie Swinney •
Staff Writer •

As the surge of the Llano River subsided, Highland Lakes residents and property owners reported minimal damage Oct. 9 and 10 to lakeside structures as well as some rising water along shorelines inching onto property.

Murky floodwaters from the Llano River from the Junction area crested in Kingsland after midnight just 24 hours earlier, eventually making its way through lakes LBJ and Marble Falls – to be captured in Lake Travis, just west of Austin.

On Oct. 10, the Lower Colorado River Authority reported floodgate operations on Wirtz and Starcke dams to pass floodwaters downstream.

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.