Williamson County and the City of Georgetown celebrated the start of construction for the final segment of the Southwest Bypass with a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday.
The project will extend the two-lane Southwest Bypass from Wolf Ranch Parkway to State Highway 29 and will also provide 1.2 miles of shared-use-path (SUP) along the extended road. 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 IH-35 to RM 2243 in May 2020.
“I am excited to see this piece of nearly a 20-year project begin. Connecting to SH 29 was always part of the Long Range Transportation Plan, but construction costs and traversing an active quarry caused the county and the city to build the Southwest Bypass in phases,” said Williamson County Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey.
The project has been expanded to include a 10-foot wide shared use path adjacent to the roadway from the north bank of the San Gabriel River to SH 29 utilizing County park bond funds.
“I’m proud to say that our final design includes a 10-foot shared-use-path that will one day connect the City of Georgetown trail system with the Southwest Williamson County Regional Park and beyond to the Brushy Creek Regional Trail,” Commissioner Covey added.
“This half-mile segment of Southwest Bypass Extension that we are breaking ground to start today will provide a direct link from Highway 29 to Southwest Bypass, allowing drivers to avoid one of our busiest corridors at Wolf Ranch. The larger bypass project represents many years of planning and coordination between the City and Williamson County. It shows what can happen when local government works together to plan for the future,” said Georgetown City Council Member District 2 Shawn Hood.
LJA Inc. is the design engineer. The contractor is Joe Bland Construction. Construction of the project is $4,288,543 and is funded through the county’s voter-approved 2019 Road Bond with $2 million from the City of Georgetown. Georgetown also contributed the right-of-way. The project is anticipated to be completed in the summer of 2023.