County initiating study of increasingly busy SH 21

State Highway 21 is no longer the sleepy country highway it once was. According to data from the Texas Department of Transportation, the number of accidents on the stretch of SH 21 in Hays County has decreased from two years ago. However, traffic on that portion of the roadway has increased by about 1,000 cars per day (closer to 2,000 in Uhland), according to Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) statistics.

Hays County has plans to expand the highway to meet the needs of commuters and residents along the SH 21 corridor. Last week, the Hays County Commissioners Court selected CP&Y Inc. to conduct an environmental study on SH 21 to consider the roadway’s long-term future. Funds for the study are part of the county’s 2016 bond program.

“Highway 21 was included in the 2016 bond program for rightof-way preservation,” Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe said.

According to the county, the environmental study will allow the county to begin to receive rightof-way dedication or purchase right-of way for potential roadway expansions. Ingalsbe said the next steps for the county are to negotiate the contract with CP&Y, which commissioners will have to approve, Ingalsbe said. With the commissioners’ go-ahead, CP&Y will begin the environmental investigation process, based on the National Environmental Policy Act, which will determine where the road is most likely to go, Ingalsbe explained. That study will allow the county to preserve future right-of-way from rapid development.

Ingalsbe said the study will look at air quality, cultural resources, community effects (such as displacements, access and travel patterns), water resources, floodplains, wildlife, traffic noise, conservation easements and other factors.

“All this is taken into consideration and can affect the ultimate footprint of the roadway and the ultimate number of lanes, whether that is a five or six-lane ultimate facility,” Ingalsbe said.

SH 21 will remain a state highway, Ingalsbe said, but Hays and Caldwell counties, along with San Marcos, Uhland, Niederwald and Mustang Ridge will assist the state with detailed planning of the highway’s corridor.

“SH 21 was included in the bond program not only to address the increasing traffic, and all the related safety and mobility concerns, but also because Hays County is the one of the fastest growing counties in the region,” Ingalsbe said, “and we see a need for SH 21 to be more than the two-lane facility it is now to adequately preserve our quality of life.”