On June 30, Williamson County broke ground on the Southeast Loop Segment 1 project. The Southeast Loop Segment 1 goes from CR 138 at SH 130 to CR 137. Construction will begin in July and is projected to last approximately 18 months. 
 
Segment 1 includes constructing a new roadway with one lane in each direction and a center turn lane from CR 138 at Dana Drive to CR 137. The project also includes widening the existing CR 138 pavement to add a dedicated right-turn lane from westbound CR 138 to northbound SH 130 and resurfacing and restriping the pavement in front of the Lakeside Estates neighborhood. 
 
This is the first of three segments of the Southeast Loop to begin construction. The road eventually will connect to Highway 79 at FM 3349, bringing relief to traffic on Highway 79 in this fast-growing area of Williamson County. The County saw a population increase of nearly 40% in the last decade and is currently the ninth fastest-growing large county nationwide.   
 
"I’ve been county commissioner for about two and a half years, and one of the things I’ve set out to do was to make sure we have transportation that keeps us safe and keeps us moving, and this is a critical, critical road in Precinct 4 that we are beginning today,” said Precinct Four Commissioner Russ Boles. “It’s going to take years to complete parts of it, and even decades to complete the ultimate design, but you can’t finish it until you start it. So, I’m pretty excited today."
 
The project was designed by RTG, and the contractor is James Construction. The construction cost is $11,526,789 and is funded through the voter-approved 2019 Road Bond. The anticipated completion date is late 2022. More information on this project is available on the website.