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With a growing population in San Marcos and Hays County, transportation needs have increased with the area's booming growth.
Texas Department of Transportation Austin District Engineer Tucker Ferguson, Hays County Commissioner Precinct 2 Mark Jones and Caldwell County Commissioner Precinct 3 Ed Theriot discussed the region’s transportation needs and future developments at the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce Transportation Summit on Thursday.
Tucker led off the event at the Embassy Suites San Marcos Hotel and Conference Center with a discussion on TxDOT’s future plans to alleviate traffic on Interstate 35 and developments throughout the county.
“This area is exploding,” Ferguson said. “It’s one of largest and fastest growing communities in the country and that is a challenge for us to meet that demand. We have a lot of projects that are ongoing and a lot that are in the future and a lot that we are planning on that don’t have funding yet. We’re going to continue to beat that drum and continue to move forward and build projects and be smart with the money that we have.”
Ferguson discussed the reconstruction of the Posey Road bridge, which includes reversing entrance and exit ramps; a future project for reconstructing the bridge over State Highway 123 — a project expected to cost $30 million and planned to be completed in early 2022; and a planned expansion of I-35 between SH-123 to Posey Road, which has a preliminary price tag of $180-200 million
“I-35 is certainly one of the busiest highways that we have,” Ferguson said. “It’s the backbone of Texas and on through the remaining part of the country. It’s a driver for the economy … It’s getting busier and growing everyday.”
Following Ferguson’s presentation, Jones and Theriot joined him on stage for a panel discussion. Both commissioners had an opportunity to discuss ongoing transportation projects in their respective counties.
