SH 45 hits hurdle in Hays

Business and political leaders in Hays County say a proposal that could delay a major highway in the northern part of the county would be a roadblock to economic development there. "It will be a terrible situation for the people of northern Hays County," Buda Mayor Billy Gray says, if any of State Highway 45 South is delayed. "It would effect the development in the area tremendously." That delay is possible because of a proposed amendment to the Capital Metropolitan Planning Organization's 2025 transportation plan. The amendment, set to be voted on Dec. 10, would designate that a portion of SH 45 South connecting FM 1626 and I-35 South not be built until another roadway to the east, State Highway 130 is complete. That could push back SH 45 for years.

Gray says he's concerned delaying SH 45 South will alter Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc.'s plans for a 200-acre retail project in the Buda area. Simon recently signed a letter of intent to purchase land near Buda for the project. Simon, Gray says, "definitely wants to know what's going on because SH 45 south increases accessibility" to its potential development. Simon representatives could not be reached for comment. Clovis Barker, chairman of the Hill Country Region of Frost Bank and one of the founders of Hays County Citizens for Parks and Roads, says the complete road is crucial to all aspects of quality of life for the county south of Austin. Any delays in transportation projects, he says, are a bad idea.

CAMPO's single Hays County representative, Hays County Commissioner Bill Burnett, says he will vote against the delay. He says traffic problems necessitate SH 45 South be built. Burnett says he believes the delay is a maneuver to eventually completely remove SH 45 South from CAMPO's long-term plan. "I think there's no question . . . there will be some type of action from the Austin City Council to pull 45 South out of the plan like they did with their plan," Burnett says.

The portion CAMPO wants to delay is the same portion the Austin City Council voted June 7 to remove from its transportation plan. CAMPO leaders say they are only trying to work out their planning. "All we were trying to control is the phasing of the project," says Alison Schulze, assistant director of CAMPO. Schulze says the goal of the amendment is to prevent MoPac Expressway from turning into a I-35 bypass, which is how SH 130 is being pictured.

A complete SH 45 South would allow access from the highly congested I-35 South to MoPac Expressway. MoPac eventually rejoins I-35 in Round Rock. Such a route would take traffic through many neighborhoods on MoPac Expressway, but let those drivers dodge the challenge of I-35 through the center of Austin. Schulze says all Central Texas' proposed toll roads -- including SH 130 and that portion of SH 45 South -- are in CAMPO's plan to be finished by 2007. However, she says CAMPO is in the process of updating its plan, and it seems unlikely that SH 130 will be completed in the proposed time frame. Regardless, Schulze says it doesn't seem likely that SH 45 would be completed much sooner than SH 130.

Although SH 45 South could have an effect on the entire the region, its most immediate impact might be to development in southern Travis and northern Hays County. High-profile local real estate players such as Gary Bradley and Stratus Properties Inc. own land that likely would increase in value and desirability should I-35 become more accessible. Environmentalists are concerned that much of that land that would be opened by SH 45 South is in western portion of the region, areas that are environmentally sensitive. SH 45 "is the single most controversial road that there is in all of Central Texas," says Robin Rather, a well-known environmentalist and former chairwoman of the Save Our Springs Alliance. "The politics around that road have embittered people on both sides of that project. I think it will be very difficult to reach consensus given the history of the road and the players involved."

Pressing heavily to move forward on SH 45 South is developer Gary Bradley. In a letter dated Oct. 20 to CAMPO Chairman Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, Bradley states: "I think the actions that CAMPO has taken on SH 45 South bring into question the integrity of CAMPO's entire planning process. ... If the action taken by CAMPO regarding SH 45 South is not rescinded, then the integrity of the entire planning process must be questioned and the goal of regional cooperation will be seriously, if not irreparably undermined." "Members of CAMPO know full well that [delaying a part of SH 45 South from opening] would kill the SH 45 project," Bradley said in an interview. Bradley says landowners considering donating right of way for SH 45 are likely to back off if there are delays.

While SH 45 South is hitting a roadblock, SH 45 North is moving forward. On Nov. 6, Travis County voters approved $32.7 million in bonds for right of way to be purchased for that road and for FM 1826.