Central Texas roadway safety plan gets federal funding

Bell County, Texas (KWTX) - The Central Texas Council of Governments is updating a plan to make roadways in seven different Central Texas counties safer.

The changes are thanks to a federal grant recently given to the organization.

“Traffic circles, traffic calming devices, leading interval pedestrian timing, so that around crosswalks, things are safer,” said Uryan Nelson, Director of Planning and Regional Services for the Central Texas Council of Governments.

The organization is getting $548,000 in federal money to update its Safety Action Plan, a 2022 study that identified some of the most dangerous roadways for drivers and pedestrians alike in those counties.

The money will be used to put temporary fixes in those areas, with an emphasis on work zones, school zones and other pedestrian heavy spots.

“You know, just making people more aware of ‘hey, things are a little more dangerous right here, so you need to be a little more cautious,’” Nelson said. “After a year, we’ve got to take all of the data that we’ve combined and put it into our plan and see if we want to apply for additional funds to see if we want to implement those changes permanently.”

With the grant, the Council of Governments has to match 20% of what they received from the federal government as part of their agreement.

Money that the organization says won’t come from other local governments, but from the time local officials spend working on the project.

“We can use that time, and the dollar amount associated with it, as the match for these funds. So, there won’t be any anticipated cash that we’re going hand in hat for to city councils,” Nelson said.

Included in the action plan are Bell, Coryell, Hamilton, Lampasas, Milam, Mills, and San Saba counties.

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