This project is large, no doubt, but we believe visitors to the resort likely won’t have much of an impact on rush hour traffic because they won’t be on an 8-to-5 schedule. They’ll come and go throughout the day. There will be a need to provide improved access to the property, so the City is designing improvements to both U.S. 79 and Kenney Fort Boulevard. Those improvements will benefit other motorists, not just Kalahari visitors.
Most of our region’s traffic congestion occurs during peak times, i.e., rush hour. Kalahari’s traffic does not peak at any particular time of day, so it should not have much impact or contribute to traffic congestion during peak times.
Yes. The improvements will include a major upgrade to the intersection of U.S. 79 and Harrell Parkway – which will be a major entrance into the resort – as well as an upgraded railroad crossing further east on U.S. 79 that accesses a regional wastewater treatment plant. Improvements to the intersection of U.S. 79 and Joe DiMaggio Boulevard are also planned. There will also be a new public roadway connecting Kenney Fort Boulevard to U.S. 79.
Our long term Transportation Master Plan includes other additions and expansions to the transportation system in the area. Some of those projects may be built sooner than projected to improve regional traffic flows. Those projects will also provide much earlier opportunity for congestion relief to the community at large. Among the current design projects underway is Kenney Fort Boulevard at Forest Creek, which will extend all the way south to Gattis School Road and eventually to SH 45.
Updated Dec. 9, 2016
The City will issue bonds to provide $30 million in net proceeds to construct City-owned improvements. The debt will be repaid through select State and City tax revenues generated by the project.
Capital Improvements to the transportation grid are always fluid, giving us the opportunity to respond to the most urgent community needs and growth.
If the Kalahari project moves forward, the extension could be built sooner than we originally anticipated. Kenney Fort Boulevard has been part of the approved Transportation Master Plan for many years, and is identified on all of the regional maps as a major corridor. Because it is considered a regional roadway, Williamson County is currently contributing voter-approved bond funds to help pay for the design.
