Council to discuss using additional funding for road, rail projects
Applying for federal transportation funding for several Kyle road projects, including two in the 2013 bond package, will be discussed at this Tuesday’s (Dec. 5) Kyle City Council meeting.
Kyle has the opportunity to add Lehman Rd. and Burleson St., along with several other streets, to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) 'project call' for its Transportation Improvement Program.
The city would also include in its application a project that would extend the current side by side railroad track at the Center St. crossing to the area north of the Burleson St. crossing. Union Pacific trains typically use the two tracks near downtown for idling, meaning one train moving out of the way of another. (This is often called rail siding.) When that happens, the UP trains often sit at the downtown crossings for extended periods of time.
City staff believes the addition of an expanded track north of downtown would significantly alleviate traffic delays on Center St., South Street and Burleson St.
Lehman and Burleson are part of the 2013 road bond package approved by Kyle voters. Lehman is scheduled for groundbreaking in 2018 with about an 18-month time frame to completion. Under the CAMPO funding plan, work on Lehman may begin in 2019.
Roads already completed under the 2013 bond include Philomena Dr. (formerly Goforth Rd.), Bunton Creek Rd., Marketplace and the Philomena extension.
Once Kyle applies for the federal funds, it could take several months to learn whether the request was approved. Funding from that source would be available in fiscal year 2019 and requires a 20 percent local match, which would come through the city's existing bond proceeds.
If funding can be secured through CAMPO, council would then have a choice to pay off the remaining bond debt or potentially use those monies for amenity improvements on the remining roads (Lehman and Burleson) or other roads in the original bond package (Marketplace Dr., Philomena Dr. and Bunton Creek Rd.).
Note: The bond funding would only be able to be reallocated to other road projects not in the 2013 bond package with voter approval.
Kyle City Council will discuss the options, including pros and cons, and make a decision about whether to apply for the CAMPO funding at its December 5 meeting.
The estimates for the projects in the CAMPO application, if approved by council, would be as follows:
Center St. rail siding / relocation $14.9 M
Burleson $8.79 M
Lehman $8.01 M
Kyle Crossing $1.28 M
Post Rd. $2.5 M
Here is a link to the Dec. 5, 2017 meeting agenda.
