The Texas Department of Transportation has picked roundabouts as the way forward for a widened Harvey Road on College Station's east side, and it will show residents the selected design at an open house next Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The SH 30 corridor plan covers about 2 miles of Harvey Road from Associates Avenue to FM 158. TxDOT's Bryan District, working with Brazos County and the City of College Station, proposes widening the road from two lanes to four, two in each direction, turning intersections into roundabouts and building new sidewalks and bicycle facilities along the route.
Three options narrowed to one
At a meeting last December, TxDOT showed three alternatives: roundabouts, a two-way center left-turn lane, and hooded left-turn lanes. The agency's hearing notice says the roundabout version is now "the selected alternative for further development." TxDOT says the plan is meant to handle future traffic growth, improve safety and lower crash rates.
Today the road has one lane each way, shoulders roughly 10 feet wide and center turn lanes only in places, with few sidewalks or bike accommodations, according to the project page. That page also states plainly: "Construction is currently not funded."
Two parks would give up land
The design would require buying right-of-way from Veterans Park and Athletic Complex at 3101 Harvey Road and from Summit Crossing Park at 3880 Alamosa Street. TxDOT says the land taken would not affect how either park functions and expects to make a "de minimis" finding under federal and state park-protection rules.
Because the parks are protected under Chapter 26 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code, TxDOT is pairing the open house with a recorded virtual public hearing on those park impacts. The notice also says the project may involve construction in wetlands and would involve work in a floodplain.
