Prospects for highway expansion not so bleak
City's proposed impact fee is tied to project
BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

Prospects for a project that would virtually rebuild State Hwy. 361 between Avenue G and Beach Access Road 1 have improved, according to correspondence between the city and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

Questions about the project arose during a presentation at the city council meeting on Thursday, Nov. 15, by TxDOT area engineer Martin Horst. Horst pointed out to the council that the Texas Transportation Commission, the body that supervises TxDOT, lacked funds for new mobility projects. Horst said he expects the commission to begin moving money from new projects to maintenance work next year sometime.

The presentation to the council followed an open house at the civic center where residents were invited to look at proposals for the stretch of roadway. The project could end up anywhere from a "full build" to a "no build," depending on funding, engineers said.

"No build" means the roadway would stay as it is, one lane of traffic in each direction.

"Full build" would add a driving lane in each direction, plus a 16-foot-wide median that would accommodate left-turn lanes at selected intersections. Bike trails and sidewalks would also be added in some areas of the highway.

In an e-mail to City Manager Michael Kovacs on Tuesday, Nov. 20, TxDOT district engineer Craig Clark agreed that funding for Texas mobility projects such as the State Hwy. 361 project "is not clear."

However, he explained, that means TxDOT doesn't know when contracts can be let for the project. It doesn't change the project's priority, Clark wrote.

"I am confident that this project will be built, I cannot say when," he wrote. "We are not taking any of our projects out of the plan, we are only viewing them as being delayed in funding."

Clark recommended that the city continue to plan for matching funds for the project. TxDOT has appropriated $8 million for the work, with the city contributing funds for drainage and similar work.

That's important to the city because the State Hwy. 361 project is integral to the city's impact fee plan, which the council is discussing implementing next year.

The fee, paid by developers, would help cover the wear and tear on streets that are impacted by new developments, including additions to existing buildings when those additions would generate more traffic.

Besides the State Hwy. 361 project, the city is also counting on impact fee funds for a proposed new beach access road and for the reconstruction of South 11th Street.

However, the state requires that streets using impact fees must be listed in the city's capital improvements plan and must be arterial or collector routes. If TxDOT decided not to commit money to rebuild the highway, the city would have to either come up with the money on its own, or remove it from the list.

While that can be done, consultants have told the council that amending an impact fee list can be complicated and expensive.

The council voted on Nov. 15 to call the first of at least two public hearings on the impact fee plan for Thursday, Dec. 20, at 5 p.m. at the council chamber. That will give residents the chance to say what they think about the proposal.