Bastrop’s Agnes Street extension project expected to break ground in summer 2022 – Austin American-Statesman

Construction on the Agnes Street extensionwhich will provide east to west connectivity south of Texas 71could begin in summer 2022, Bastrop City Manager Paul Hofmann said Tuesday.

The city's proposed timeline was announced less than a week after the Texas General Land Office awarded Bastrop $4.2 million to fund thestreet extension.

The GLO approvedmore than $28 millionto improve flood mitigation infrastructure in Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville, the state agency announced on May 21. The GLO approved theAgnes Street extension funding in an effort to help first responders reach rapidly-developing areas in southwest Bastrop.

During Tuesdays Bastrop City Council meeting,Hofmann said the city is estimating it will take 10 months to design the project, before construction canbegin

The project will extend Agnes Street from Sterling Boulevard to Texas 304,and construction will take aboutone year to complete.

Part of what Im doing here, I guess, is managing expectations, Hofmann told the council. We got the grant, we dont have a design project yet and it will take several months for us to get that done.

According to the GLO'sMay 21 funding announcement, the project will include acquiring two partial tracts of vacant land and constructing a two-lane asphalt pavement section with a concrete curb and gutter from Home Depot Way to the existing Agnes Street.

Upon completion of the roadway, emergency response time will be dramatically improved, Mayor Connie Schroeder said in last weeks funding announcement. Multimodal mobility for the community and promotion of economic development are additional benefits.

Texas 71,which runs east to west through Bastrop, is designated as a major hurricane evacuation route and as an evacuation route for other flood-related events in Central Texas. Therefore, the Agnes Street extension will provide another east to west connector and help reduce emergency response times during disaster.

Traffic on Texas 71 during evacuation events limits the ability of first responders to provide service south of the highway and west of the Colorado River due to a lack of alternate east and west connector roads, according to the GLO.

Many of the areas hit hardest by natural disasters have never had access to funding for critical infrastructure projects to mitigate flooding and protect residents, Land Commissioner George P. Bush said in a statement May 21. The historic funding were announcing today will go directly to projects that will help fortify Texas homes, businesses and critical infrastructure against future disasters for generations.

Hofmann said that in July, the city expects to receive a contract between it and the GLO for review and approval. At the same time, the city will be working with Kimley-Horn a planning, engineering and design consulting firm to define the scope of work for the project.

Once the city receives this contract, Hofmann said it will undergo legal review and consultant review. Hofmann said the citys consultant for this group of grant applications is The Langford Group.

We will bring that contract to council just as soon as we can, Hofmann said.

Hofmann said Kimley-Horn, which has more than 80 offices across the country including two in Austin, was previously selected by the City Council to work on the Agnes Street project after a competitive process.

Hofmann estimated it would take 10 months to design the project before soliciting bids to construct the extensionand beginthe road work.

He said the design and land acquisition process will begin this summer.

Hofmann also saidAssistant City Manager Trey Job has secured written commitments from property owners to dedicate right of ways for theproject, but a more formal right-of-way conveyance will still need to be executed.

Schroeder, who told the council she was informed of the funding approval on May 19 ahead of the GLO's May 21 announcement, said the city didnt get a grant for the Agnes Street extension project the last time it tried to secure one.

"Imjust thrilled we got the grant for it, Schroeder said Tuesday. Its just awesome to see Bastrop County represented and to see federal dollars going to protect the life, health, safety, drainage protection. Just so thrilled that Bastrop County did so well.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has made more than $2.3 billion in disaster relief funding availableforTexas communities affected by Hurricane Harvey and other severe flooding incidents in 2015 and 2016.

The first round of funding, from which Bastrop's street extension project was funded,saw $1 billion awarded for infrastructure projects designed to mitigate damage from future disasters.

Continued here:

Bastrop's Agnes Street extension project expected to break ground in summer 2022 - Austin American-Statesman