Williamson County officials were joined by representatives from the City of Georgetown and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to celebrate the completion of the Southwest Bypass extension as well as the completed improvements to D.B. Wood Road and SH 29 in Georgetown on Friday, June 23.
Williamson County and the City of Georgetown held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the final segment of the Southwest Bypass road project. The project extends the two-lane Southwest Bypass from Wolf Ranch Parkway to SH 29. The City of Georgetown completed the Southwest Bypass from RM 2243 to Wolf Ranch Parkway in July 2018. Williamson County completed the Southwest Bypass from I-35 to RM 2243 in May 2020.
“This is a huge day for Williamson County and for the city of Georgetown as we cut the ribbon on this last piece of the Southwest Bypass. This project has spent a long time in planning and is one of the most important roads that we have built in Williamson County,” said Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey. “The Bypass gives non-local motorists a route around the city’s commercial center by allowing them direct access to IH-35.”
In addition, the project included a 10-foot wide, 1.2 mile shared-use path (SUP) adjacent to the roadway from the north bank of the San Gabriel River to SH 29 utilizing county park bond funds.
LJA Engineering Inc. was the design engineer. The contractor was Joe Bland Construction. Construction of the project cost $4,288,543 and was funded through the county’s voter-approved 2019 Road Bond. The City of Georgetown contributed $2 million to the project as well as the right-of-way.
“We appreciate the partnership with Williamson County on this project. This segment of Southwest Bypass will allow drivers to avoid the busy intersection on Hwy. 29 at I-35. It is an important piece of a larger project to construct the full Southwest Bypass, providing an alternative to Hwy. 29 for east-west traffic in the city,” said Georgetown Mayor Pro-Tem Kevin Pitts.
Williamson County and TxDOT celebrated the completion of improvements at D.B. Wood Road and SH 29. The project added left and right-turn lanes in both directions of SH 29, eliminating the continuous left-turn lane. The project included a raised median and widened D.B. Wood at the intersection to provide dual southbound left-turn lanes and an additional travel lane in each direction.
“This was a complex project to complete. There are multiple utilities, including major waterlines running from Lake Georgetown, multiple developments and landowners that that we partnered with, in addition to nearly 35,000 cars using SH 29 daily. This was a collaborative effort, and I want to say thank you to everyone who made this project a reality, especially the voters who recognize the county’s growing needs and who approved both the 2013 and 2019 road bonds,” said Commissioner Covey.
The project was designed by Unintech Consulting Engineers, Inc., and the construction contractor was Dan Williams. Williamson County funded design, utility coordination and right-of-way for $5.19 million funded with voter-approved Road Bonds. The project construction cost was $5,548,287.92 and was funded by TxDOT.
“The SH 29 corridor has seen tremendous growth over the past few years, increasing traffic and congestion in the area,” said TxDOT Austin District Engineer Tucker Ferguson. “Improvements to key intersections along SH 29, such as D.B. Wood, are not only timely, but necessary to keep up with the demands of this growing community.”