County, TxDOT break ground on FM 110 South project

A project over 50 years in the making, broke ground Wednesday morning. 

Hays County and the Texas Department of Transportation held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Farm-to-Market Road 110 South Project on Wednesday. 

“There have been many people who have worked on the FM 110 Project, which was previously known as the San Marcos Loop,” Hays County Commissioner Pct. 1 Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe said. “I have personally 23 years and it is with great joy and excitement to finally make this a reality. Oh my goodness, this is truly remarkable.” 

FM 110 South is a $15.2 million project, which includes the construction of a new section of FM 110 with two travel lanes and shoulders stretching 2.196 miles from State Highway 123 to Farm-to-Market road 621 in southeastern Hays County. The project to extend the FM 110 is expected to provide improved connectivity for development occurring east of Interstate 35.  

“We believe FM 110 will improve safety, mobility connectivity, while also supporting the county and city's economic development programs by providing improved access to residential and employment centers east of I-35 by opening up over 4,300 acres adjacent to the roadway,” Ingalsbe said. 

Hays County Commissioner Pct. 1 Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe smiles at Wednesday's FM 110 South Project Groundbreaking Ceremony. Ingalsbe played a key role in the project's development.

City of San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson said a loop around San Marcos has been envisioned since the 1950s. 

“After 1996, as a councilmember for the City of San Marcos, I was hearing that sometimes things didn’t move forward if someone didn’t speak for them at the different TxDOT public input sessions,” Hughson said. “So I traveled to Marble Falls, to Bastrop, to various places to just say, ‘We still need the loop. Here’s our petition, we still need the loop.’ Just to make sure there wasn’t going to be any opportunity for ‘Yeah, we’re not hearing about it anymore.’ So Commissioner Ingalsbe, thank you so very much and all the county judges and commissioners who’ve worked on this project for over 20 years. I, other San Marcans, and everyone who will drive on this marvelous parkway, thank you.” 

City of San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson speaks to the crowd at the FM 110 South Project groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday.

Jason Giulietti, vice president of economic development at the Greater San Marcos Partnership, said FM 110 is a critical piece to the puzzle of attracting new companies to bring new jobs to the region. 

“As you guys all know, infrastructure, being able to move people and product is essential to any business,” Giulietti said. “So having this ability to soften what we know is inevitable on I-35 and that traffic already exists well into Hays County and headed South toward San Antonio is eventually going to reach us and hit that capacity, so having alternative routes like FM 110 are going to be critical … FM 110 will provide that critical connector to move those people and product and we’re going to work tirelessly to make sure those 4,300 acres are developed in a way that helps our community grow economically, new job and future business investment.” 

Additional construction of FM 110 will begin in the spring of 2020 at Farm-to-Market Road 621 and State Highway 80, and in the fall of 2020 from SH 80 to I-35, Ingalsbe said.