Council presses staff for traffic fixes as Sprouts/Endeavor proposal raises circulation concerns

City Manager James Arp told the Hutto City Council the proposed Endeavor development—where Sprouts has been discussed as a potential tenant—would generate "massive amounts of new trips" at the northeast corner of State Highway 130 and US 79 and that existing access constraints could create serious circulation problems if not addressed.

"TxDOT is limiting what they're willing to let happen at the Innovation Intersection with the North Access Road," Arp said, describing how turn movements are restricted and how the frontage-road geometry makes eastbound loop movements difficult. Council members and staff discussed potential mitigation: adding turn lanes (which TxDOT has rejected as insufficient), extending or building new frontage‑road segments, and the possibility of a roundabout or longer off‑site improvements that might push traffic onto Alliance Boulevard or other intersections.

Council members asked whether the developer had proposed specific off‑site improvements; Arp said the developer asked for two right‑turn lanes but that TxDOT rejected some options. The mayor urged staff to identify which mitigation solutions the city would accept and to tell the developer what would be required, rather than leaving it to the developer to propose a solution that TxDOT then rejects. "What do we as a city say will work?" the mayor asked.

Staff said a funded design study already exists and that the city will likely need to decide whether to ask the developer to fund off‑site improvements, use EDC support, or let the project fail if adequate access cannot be provided. Council did not take action on the item at the meeting but asked staff to return with recommendations and a clearer list of acceptable mitigation strategies at the next meeting.