Elected officials and neighborhood leaders celebrated the renovation of Gattis School Road at a ribbon-cutting ceremony today.  Improvements to a 1.6 mile stretch of the road included widening the roadway and adding more lanes, creating turn lanes at major intersections, and adding sidewalks and bicycle paths.  The improvements cost about $6.3 million and were completed over a two-year period.

Traffic volume on Gattis School Road doubled between 1997 and 2002 as the area, which straddles the line between northern Travis and southern Williamson counties, grew exponentially.

Travis County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt and Williamson County Commissioner Ron Morrison cut the ribbon to dedicate the project, even though the roadway was open to traffic earlier this month.

“Not only did we improve traffic flow, we included bike lanes, sidewalks, pedestrian crosswalks, additional traffic signals and better sightlines between the road and the neighborhoods along it,” said Commissioner Eckhardt.  “This project was the happy result of coordinated efforts between citizens, Travis and Williamson counties, the City of Round Rock and CapMetro.  Through these types of collaboration we achieve the highest quality and efficiency in governance.  I am proud to have played a role.”

“I grew up in the area so I remember driving Gattis School Road when it was gravel, you could see more cows than cars,” said Commissioner Morrison.  “It took the cooperation of several entities to bring this project to fruition and I am excited about finally getting four-lane connectivity from IH 35 to l30.  The project will be friendly to all forms of transportation — auto, bicycle and pedestrian.”

The ribbon-cutting was held at the intersection of Gattis School Road and Winterfield Road.