Southern Route Chosen

From the Austin American Statesman:

Texas 29 expansion to pass south of Liberty Hill By David C. Doolittle AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, September 04, 2008 GEORGETOWN -- The route for a planned expansion of Texas 29 in the northwestern part of Williamson County will pass south of Liberty Hill, several commissioners announced Wednesday. Expansion of the five-lane highway is part of a long-range countywide transportation plan designed to meet the needs of the rapidly growing county. The county plans to make Texas 29, which now goes through Liberty Hill, the main east-west corridor for an area where county leaders say the next wave of growth will happen.

Read more in our September 4th newsletter.

And remember: two county commissioners may have made a decision, but it's not too late to fight as long as they haven't started to roll the bulldozers.

Open House, Closed Ears

The Austin Chronicle > HOME: AUGUST 8, 2008 > NEWS OPPONENTS MOBILIZE AGAINST SH 29 BYPASS On Aug. 4, Williamson County's steamroller streak took a hit, as hundreds of citizens seeing red over the planned expansion of State Highway 29 wore red to a raucous "open house" hosted by county commissioners Cynthia Long and Valerie Covey. At issue is a multilane SH 29 bypass, proposed by the Commissioners Court, that would be constructed either to the north or south of Liberty Hill. Two groups opposing the road plan - Keep 29 Local and LibertyHillRiver.org, which advocates keeping the San Gabriel River countryside unspoiled by asphalt - pronounced the Wear Red campaign a success. According to one report from the event, when the audience was asked how many were opposed to both of the proposed routes, the entire crowd stood up. The mounting flap over the dubbed "Highway to Nowhere" could signal a shift in the political winds, too, as some WilCo GOP incumbents face Democratic opponents in November. - Patricia J. Ruland

Updated August 6: you can see a slide show of photos from the Hwy 29 Expansion open house

The Wear Red campaign was a huge success in one respect: there is no doubt that County Commissioners Cynthia Long and Valerie Covey saw the number of people wearing red and vocally opposing both remaining Highway 29 bypass options. Hundreds of people showed up at the meeting to hear county's consultants and engineers answer questions sent in advance. But when Linda Rife tried to adjourn the meeting, JT Cox stood up and asked politely but firmly how many people in the audience opposed both options. The huge crowd of Liberty Hill citizens stood as one and applauded.

The citizens of a united Libery Hill made it clear they don't want an Interstate 29.

Unfortunately the county wanted to make tonight a multiple choice quiz:

• Go North
• Go South
• None of the above, not on the test

The county is happy to listen to us and wants our input, but the only question left is to choose the Northern Route or the Southern Route.

To be fair, the county commissioners make a pretty clear cut case:

• The county can't stop growth
• People will continue to move to Williamson County
• Highway 29 will someday be overwhelmed with traffic jams
• The road has to either go through Liberty Hill or around it
• It's better to plan early than later

How can you reconcile the will of the people with the harsh realities of demographics?

I have one idea to propose, but it will probably take a change to Texas law to implement, and it won't make everyone happy.

What's all this about a new road?

After a corridor study by Chiang, Patel and Yerby, Inc., three primary routes with sixteen possible options have been reduced to just two options: a northern bypass that goes about 2.5 miles north of the current highway 29, and a southern bypass about 1 mile south of the current highway.

At this point the county is not planning to condemn any land; they can't start taking property by eminent domain without doing a lot more studies. But, once the county has chosen a route and started buying land, a 10 to 20 year clock will have started that will inevitably lead to condemnation and then construction of a 10 lane roadway 400' wide.

Where does this new road go?

The plans don't yet seem to indicate the locations of overpasses, but they show one-way frontage roads, so wherever the road goes there will be a lot of U-turns and driving to get past the new road.

Isn't the South San Gabriel River prone to flooding?

Yes, and the southern route crosses the river not once but twice. The county maps show the 100 year floodplain, but last year's rain bomb sent the South San Gabriel far beyond the 100 year borders shown on these maps. These photos show the flooding at County Road 279 near the Martha Chapman Dam. The water completely closed not only this county road, but highway 183 just north of the new toll road. The best way to deal with a flood prone river is just not to build near it.

What can I do?

Go to the open house

The folks at Keep29Local.COM ask that you wear red to show your opposition to expanding highway 29 into an interstate.

Talk to the people involved (politely and calmly). A majority of Williamson County voted to build new roads; our elected officials are just trying to do the right thing. You can help by pointing out historical, environmental and practical issues with each of the two routes and traffic growth in Western Williamson County.

Perhaps it's not too late to convince them that "less is more" and we can add road capacity to the existing Highway 29 without paving over twelve hundred acres of farm and ranchland.

Learn more

Sign up to receive email notices from the county.

Talk to your commissioner

Help us Document the Beauty of the South San Gabriel River Valley

Tell your neighbors about the road project and this web site.

Send photos of the river valley, stories about your land's history, wildlife and unique features to info@LibertyHillRiver.ORG