KILLEEN, Texas (June 13, 2023) – The City of Killeen’s Development Services Department’s Engineering division is providing updates to citizens regarding seven, major road construction projects throughout the city.
The roads include Bunny Trail, Stagecoach Road, Gilmer Street, Watercrest Road, Willow Springs Road, Chaparral Rod and Rancier Avenue.
The process for road construction includes hiring a consultant through a formal selection process, followed by the design. The design may include investigations and studies for soils, drainage, environmental, utility conflicts, required permitting, surveying and possible land acquisition. The design is reviewed by the City as it progresses. A typical roadway design process takes anywhere from two to five years.
Here are the project timelines, which can be altered depending on several variables:
- Bunny Trail: Final design plans due August 2023; project bidding / construction anticipated early 2024; Open House held in May 2022.
- Stagecoach Road: Contractor agreement executed May 2023; project will be bid for construction in phases based on funding
- Gilmer Street: Final design plans submitted; project bidding / construction anticipated Summer 2023
- Watercrest Road: Final plans due August 2023; project will bid for construction once funding is available; no set date available.
- Willow Springs Road: Project design phase continues; preliminary plans due December 2023 and project will bid for construction once funding is available; no set date available
- Chaparral Road: Open House held April 2023; Council presentation of recommendation planned August 2023.
- Rancier Avenue: Agreement with contractor executed December 2022; preliminary plans due December 2023.
There are a lot of variables when constructing roadways, so in 2022, the Engineering division began placing quarterly reports on the City of Killeen website at www.KilleenTexas.gov/Engineering to ensure citizens are updating on the progress.
Items that can affect a construction schedule include easements, right-of-way needs, railroads, environmental issues, property owner investigations and more, which can delay projects once discoveries are made within any part of the project.
Residents are encouraged to check the quarterly report each January, April, July and October on the website at www.KilleenTexas.gov/Engineering, and the City will update the community each quarter on our social media platforms, as well.
The Street Reconstruction Project was approved in the 2022 budget that included a list of priority projects that would be partially funded through the Certificate of Obligation Bond (COB) and Street Maintenance Fee.
When a road is constructed, it has a useful life of about 20 years before major repair is necessary.
In 2021, the City of Killeen invested $5.8 million in 13 road repair projects following Winter Storm Uri, which included milling, overlay and striping.
In 2022, the City of Killeen invested $4.3 million in repairing eight roadways. The City also secured a $23 million bond to assist in the cost of eight roadway replacement projects. The Rancier Avenue project is being funded through the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ).
In 2021, the City Council approved a fiscal year 2022 budget that included a Street Maintenance fee of $10 a month per single-family equivalent that was expected to generate $9.6 million annually.