An official groundbreaking for Bee Cave Road construction was held recently, the start of a multi-year plan to improve mobility and safety along this prime traffic corridor in West Lake Hills. The three-mile project will cost $29 million and will include adding a center-turn lane between Redbud Trail and Walsh Tarlton Lane and creating shoulders and sidewalks where possible.
Bee Cave Road, in its current form, originally was constructed in 1956. Traffic has grown to include 25,000 vehicles per day and is expected to grow even further over the next 10 years to 33,400 vehicles.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by West Lake Hills community members, as well as Texas Department of Transportation officials, Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, West Lake Hills Mayor Linda Anthony, and former West Lake Hills Mayor Dave Claunch. Pre-construction activities are underway, including striping work, clearing the right of way, moving utility lines, and setting environmental controls.
To protect surrounding Westlake neighborhoods and Westlake homeowners, left turns will be prohibited from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays at any Bee Cave intersection along the construction stretch that does not have a traffic signal. This includes Buckeye Trail, McConnell Drive, and Westhaven Drive.
Various closures and changes will take place over the project’s lifespan, until the summer of 2019. To start, some lanes from Redbud Lane to Westlake Drive will close overnight from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. In the near future, there will be eastbound and westbound lane closures from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but TxDOT officials hope to close only portions of the lanes at one time. Most lane closures are planned for off-peak times.