Rural neighbors wary of Williamson County road project

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Residents in Weir, Walburg and Granger have teamed up to keep an eye on a portion of East Wilco Highway set to be built in the near future.

The members call themselves Preserve Wilco Now! and had their first-ever meeting last month.

Tamela Baker has lived in her Granger home for 25 years and went to the group’s April meeting.

She said there were 150-175 people in attendance all wanting to know more about the Corridor K portion of the East Wilco Highway.

“It impacts a far larger number of people than the ones who were initially contacted,” Baker said.

Baker is referring to a letter she received from Williamson County. The letter was sent to residents that live near the corridor, notifying them of the project and seeking input for its preservation study meetings.

Preliminary plans from the county’s website shows that Corridor K would connect I-35 to the East Wilco Highway , intersecting CR 1105 outside Granger.

Ground has yet to be broken on latter portions of the highway that connect to Corridor K, but Williamson County celebrated the completion of its first segment of highway last October.

Baker said she and other neighbors are concerned the construction and finished road product would disrupt the quiet country living they enjoy.

“The silence is beautiful. We don’t often have the running creek so rain is a real blessing for that, and in the evening, the frogs are fantastic,” Baker said.

Along with the quiet, Baker said the group is concerned about the “right of way” issues posed by the road’s construction.

In order to build parts of Corridor K, the county must establish a “right of way.” Some of these areas will include pieces of private land, forcing the county to reach a deal and purchase the needed property from its owners.

“It is a very long process with negotiations. There is a way for the county and the landowner to come to a fair market value price through eminent domain,” Connie Odom, director of communications for Williamson County said.

Odom said Corridor K is still undergoing its alignment phase, meaning the actual placement of the road is still under consideration.

She said once feedback from residents is finished being gathered, it will inform where engineers put the road. More plans for the corridor are expected later this fall.

“We are still talking with landowners to determine information about the property to decide what the best alignment for that roadway could be. We’ve now gone further north and so we do reach out again to update people with information,” Odom said.

Baker said the group plans to meet routinely to assess the ongoing project and keep residents informed on updates.

Odom encourages anyone with questions about these or other ongoing road projects to message the county’s Road Department at roads@wilco.org or by calling 512-943-1195.

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