TxDOT outlines PEL study, I‑35 expansion and local safety projects affecting Buda

Willie Samora, area engineer for TxDOT’s South Travis office, told Buda City Council the agency is finishing a 46‑mile Project Environmental Linkage study that will guide long‑term improvements on I‑35 from the San Antonio expansion northward.

“The PEL study is a 46 mile long evaluation,” Samora said, adding it produces a plan officials can use to prioritize sections of I‑35 as construction funding becomes available. He also described the Capital Express South project — a multiyear, $548 million effort in Austin that adds managed lanes while retaining general‑purpose lanes and rebuilding frontage roads.

Samora reviewed local work that will affect Buda drivers: two projects to complete the 2001 corridor (an east segment currently funded and a funding‑gap segment still needing construction dollars), intersection improvements at Hillside Terrace that would add a center turn lane and signal, and several signal projects expected to let this winter/early next year. He said the Robert S. Light intersection modifications and a Persimmon roundabout are moving ahead, with final paving for the roundabout currently projected for September–October (weather dependent).

Council members pressed TxDOT for timing. On Hillside Terrace, Samora said the county is targeting a 2026 bid and a 2026–27 construction window for the combined center lane and signal package. He also warned that some traffic‑signal equipment lead times run about eight months, and that agencies sometimes accelerate installations by shifting materials from other projects — but that reduces capacity elsewhere.

On the question of turning back SH‑967 to the city, Samora said the request has been forwarded to TxDOT statewide leadership and the commission; he described the process as largely paperwork at this point but cautioned approvals must run up the chain and may take time. He invited staff to continue coordinating and suggested the city could proceed with needed improvements if turnback timing significantly delays projects already funded by the city.