Kyle City Council moves forward with $39.8M Bunton Creek Road Project

KYLE, Texas - Relief may soon be on the horizon for drivers and families navigating Bunton Creek Road, as progress continues on a major infrastructure project funded by Kyle’s historic 2022 Road Bond.

Currently, a congested two-lane corridor, Bunton Creek Road, is slated for a full makeover. The city plans to expand the stretch from two to four lanes, complete with a dedicated center turn lane designed to ease severe traffic delays.

Easing Traffic and Improving Safety

What they're saying:

For local residents, the upgrades cannot come soon enough. Commuters regularly report long delays during peak hours, particularly around school drop-off and pick-up times.

"This is a really bad road for traffic," said local resident David Barr Kirtley.

Jennell Rayos, another area resident, noted that school drop-offs often turn into lengthy ordeals. "Trying to drop off your kid...you’re sitting in traffic from 45 minutes to an hour, and that’s just to get out of Kyle," Rayos said.

In addition to road widening, the project introduces key pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure:

• A 10-foot-wide sidewalk along Bunton Creek Road from Lehman Road to Porter Cove.
• A 12-foot-wide Vybe Trail along Center Street from Old Stagecoach Road to Veterans Drive, which was recently approved by the Kyle City Council.

Residents have advocated for dedicated footpaths for years, largely due to safety concerns for students walking to nearby Lehman High School.

"A lot of the kids in the neighborhood have to walk from their houses to Lehman High School, and the current route is not safe," Kirtley said.

Another local resident, Holly Wilson, pointed out the current conditions students face during bad weather: "Right now, when it rains, when they’re walking to and from school, they’re walking in mud."

Rising Costs and Community Concerns

Dig deeper:

The project is part of Proposition A, a $294 million road bond approved by voters in November 2022—the largest in the city's history. Bunton Creek Road is one of eight major projects included in the bond, which also features planned intersection upgrades at South Goforth Road.

However, the cost of the project has grown significantly. Originally estimated at $28.6 million in 2022, projected costs have risen to $39.8 million.

City officials are exploring cost-saving measures, with calculations indicating that potential design adjustments could save up to $3.73 million. However, some community members worry that cutting costs could compromise safety or long-term usability.

"We are not being shortsighted and building them too narrow, because eventually that’s going to cost taxpayers a lot more money," Wilson warned, emphasizing that paths need to be built wide enough to handle long-term growth. "Having to redo the project over again because they realized it was not wide enough for people to use safely."

Kirtley echoed those concerns, advocating for the project to stick to its original scope. "My position is that they should just do everything right and do it the way that I was promised, and get more money to complete everything... rather than trying to cut corners and make things less safe and less useful than what voters approved."

Unintended Impact on School Bus Routes

Big picture view:

As the city evaluates pedestrian additions, City Council members raised questions about how new sidewalks might impact local school bus routes.

Under Texas state guidelines, school districts receive state funding to provide bus transportation to students within a two-mile radius only if the route is designated as "hazardous"—such as roads lacking sidewalk infrastructure.

Hays CISD acknowledged that adding sidewalks could alter those designations:

While the specific impact on Bunton Creek Road routes remains under review, Hays CISD emphasized that it routinely adapts to infrastructure changes across the fast-growing district. Adjustments in similar cases have included adding crossing guards, high-visibility street markings, warning signs, and flashing beacon lights at key intersections.

Project Timeline and Next Steps

What's next:

Construction was initially set to begin this fall, but the timeline is currently being updated while the city completes an intersection improvement analysis.

Key elements of the overall project—including a proposed roundabout and plans to move utilities underground—are currently paused for re-evaluation and are expected to be brought back before the City Council in the near future.

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