Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

It took a total of some 14 months, but Burnet County has cleared two more hurdles on the way to a proposed Wirtz Dam Road bridge crossing that would link Ranch to Market Road 1431 with RM 2147.

On Tuesday, Feb. 25, Burnet County commissioners approved the final version of an advanced funding agreement, or AFA, between the county and the Texas Department of Transportation that will allow the county to pay — and be reimbursed for — preliminary engineering and environmental studies for the bridge crossing. …

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

As U.S. 281 projects in Burnet and Llano counties continue into the new year, crews are scheduled to launch work in at least two more highly-traveled areas in 2020.

In southern Burnet County, construction crews have continued to remove tons of crushed rock along several miles of U.S. 281 in the southern Marble Falls city limits from the RM 2147 East intersection to an area just short of the Texas 71 intersection. …

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Marble Falls city officials vowed to address growing traffic concerns by a neighborhood fed up with speed and cut-through vehicles off FM 1431 and U.S. 281 into a historic district.

During the Dec. 3 regular meeting, several residents attended who live east of U.S. 281 in the Avenue E area of the city. …

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

Later this month, Burnet County will put out an enhanced request for qualifications for the engineering component of the proposed Wirtz Dam Road bridge, which would allow traffic to go from Ranch to Market Road 1431 to RM 2147, County Judge James Oakley said.

Connie Swinney/The Highlander

A $7.3 million road safety improvement project is under way along US 281 from the 2147 East intersection to the Texas 71 intersection. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the project is adding a continuous left-turn lane and widening shoulders. Officials said the project will take approximately 18 months to complete, starting from the time motorists could see preparations taking shape three months ago in the form of caution barrels and land clearing in the right-of-way.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham knows a thing or two about bureaucratic red tape.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) officials conducted a press conference in Austin Oct. 26, revealing the bridge could be completed as early as April 2019.

Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Plans take shape to replace the collapsed RR 2900 Bridge in Kingsland, as Texas Department of Transportation coordinate engineering meetings, draft designs and seek an emergency contract to potentially begin the process in December, officials say.

On Oct. 16, flood waters from Junction swept into the Llano River eventually slamming into the Highland Lakes at the mouth of Lake LBJ, washing away the structure.

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Burnet County has submitted their order and now they must sit back and see if local transportation needs are given a slice of the federal funding pie.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The possibility of a Colorado River bridge below Wirtz Dam clearly is gathering a head of steam and John Q. Citizen is about to weigh in on the project.

In a meeting conducted by the Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) Friday, Sept. 9, in Marble Falls City Council chambers, Burnet County governmental leaders and first responders were enthusiastic. Now, CAMPO is beginning a campaign to inform the public and gather opinions from residents, owners of property and businesses and from lake users.

A bridge below Wirtz Dam to connect north-south traffic between Ranch to Market Roads (RM) 1431 and 2147 has been a long-held priority of County Judge James Oakley.