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Whats new with the roads in south Austin? FM 1626 Road update for 2012.

By
Real Estate Agent with WJK Realty 0570241

Living in south Austin I am personally affected by the condition of the local roads in our neighborhood. There have been many who have lobbied to get Brodie Lane widened to relieve the congestion created by all the new neighborhoods in Buda and Kyle using Brodie Lane to get into Austin. Sadly this project keeps getting delayed, they say its due to lack of funds. The land for the project was actually purchased back in the late 1990's, but they claim there are no funds available to complete this project. Karen Huber ran on a platform that promised this project would be completed. Once elected she flip-floped and voted against this road improvement. So I urge local residents to remember this during election season.

Now it seems parts further south have lobbied and won again. They have managed to get approval for FM 1626 to be widened from 1 lane each way into 2 lanes each way and end at Brodie Lane. This bigger road will be feeding even more additional cars onto Brodie Lane which is already over crowded. Brodie Lane was designed in the 1970's as a "neighborhood street" only. Now Travis County has re-designated this neighborhood road into an "arterial feeder road" to 1626. For those of you non native's FM stands for Farm To Market Road, which allowed farmers to be able to bring their goods into town to sell. These roads were not designed for the heavy use they currently receive much less the increased traffic these changes will create.

As a longtime resident of the Shady Hollow neighborhood, I have seen our local traffic increase drastically. When I moved here over ten years ago it was easy to get off my street and up to Slaughter Lane. Now it can take from five to fifteen minutes just to get off my street. I do not see this project as an improvement. I am sure this widening of FM 1626 will drastically increase the number of cars from Hays county onto our one lane each way neighborhood road, Brodie Lane. While the project was initially begun by TXDOT in 2003, now its been taken over by Hays County to get it pushed through. This expansion does not improve Austin, it only benefits Hays County residents.

This project is slated to begin in 2012 and is part of a $207 million road project that was approved in 2008. In my opinion this will add too many additional cars onto Brodie Lane and cause more headaches for Shady Hollow and Estates of Shady Hollow residents. If they really wanted to improve this area, they would widen FM 1626 all the way to Manchaca Road which is already two lanes each direction with a dedicated turn lane and equipped to handle the traffic this so called improvement will cause.

If you want to keep track of the projects progress you may visit their website: www.improve1626.com. They will have a live camera feed to monitor the construction progress.

 

I am not affiliated with the road project in any way. I am simply a local Realtor living in the neighborhood. I want to help my neighbors be aware of whats going on in Shady Hollow and areas further south that affect our quality of life. If your looking to buy or sell a home in Shady Hollow please give me a call.

Betina Foreman- Realtor, C.N.E.

WJK Realty, Inc.

(512)771-6318

 

Comments (2)

Betina Foreman
WJK Realty - Austin, TX
Realtor, C.N.E., with WJK REALTY

2016 Update

They are now widening Frate Barker Road from Brodie Lane to Manchaca. Construction started mid 2016 and should be complete after the new year. Also SH-45 was finally approved and construction starts this month on the 3 mile section of highway to connect 1626 to South MOPAC. South Austin neighborhoods on Brodie Lane are rejoycing!

Dec 08, 2016 10:27 AM
Betina Foreman
WJK Realty - Austin, TX
Realtor, C.N.E., with WJK REALTY

FM 1626 Construction from FM 967 to FM 2770 (Jack C Hays Trail) to Begin in Fall 2016

Hays County is looking forward to bringing these much needed improvements to the next phase of FM 1626. Construction from Brodie Lane to FM 967 was completed in July 2015. Utility relocations on the next phase are underway and construction is scheduled to begin in late October 2016, lasting approximately 2 years.

FM 1626 Improvements from FM 967 to FM 2770 will be similar to the completed north section and include:

  • Two lanes in each direction
  • Shoulders or curb and gutter
  • Continuous center turn lane through most of the project length
  • Widened bridges over Onion Creek and Mustang Creek
  • Sidewalk on north end of FM 1626 near RM 967, including in front of Elm Grove Elementary School
Dec 08, 2016 10:29 AM