Council hears costs, benefits and neighborhood trade-offs for Post Oak and Moore Street extensions

City transportation staff presented two medium-term roadway projects Wednesday as top priorities to reduce congestion and provide alternatives to Main Street: the Post Oak/Cherry extension and a Moore Street extension.

The council heard updated cost estimates, a consultant benefit–cost comparison and staff recommendations to pursue grant or cost participation from TxDOT and Gillespie County while planning neighborhood outreach.

Clint and transportation staff summarized the 2017–19 master-plan findings and a consultant traffic-impact study. Post Oak/Cherry — a corridor intended to link State Highway 16 to Main Street and relieve congestion near school access points — was shown as a 1.13-mile collector with a consultant benefit–cost ratio of 3.9 and an estimated 2028 cost of about $11,150,000. Staff said the project would use existing right of way wherever possible and that the principal missing piece is a short right-of-way wedge across Barrens Creek.

On Moore Street, staff described an eastern and northwestern extension that would provide an alternate east–west route and reduce pressure on Cherry Street and other neighborhood arteries. The staff estimate for the Moore Street extensions was about 1.9 miles with a current projected cost of roughly $18.5 million; the consultant’s benefit–cost ratio for Moore/Mulberry in the master plan stood lower than Post Oak but staff said updated analysis is warranted.

A consultant-prepared benefit–cost ratio (BCR) compares monetized travel-time and fuel savings over a 20-year period to project cost; staff said Post Oak and Mulberry returned BCRs near 3.8–3.9 while Frederick and Interloop returned roughly half those values. “If you look at that over a 20 year period, you get twice as much bang for your buck for the first two projects,” staff said when explaining comparative results.

Council members raised neighborhood impacts and the question of who pays. Several council members said they would prefer to secure county and TxDOT participation before the city assumes large up-front costs. One council member said local taxpayers should not shoulder the full cost of a corridor that helps regional travel, and another urged staff to sequence the work so the projects deliver visible, near-term congestion relief in addition to long-term capacity.

Staff said timelines are multi-year and recommended community open houses in the neighborhoods along proposed routes. They also told council they anticipate a potential bond election in 2027 to fund priorities, describing a bond package “somewhere in the... 30 plus or minus million range.” Staff emphasized that these are planning-level estimates and that updated traffic modeling, right-of-way appraisals and TxDOT negotiations will refine both cost and schedule.

No vote was taken. Staff asked for council direction on priorities and for permission to pursue additional coordination with Gillespie County and TxDOT and to hold neighborhood meetings before advancing design phases.