According to a press release from Keith Hutchinson, a change in ownership for the downtown segment of Austin Avenue in Georgetown means new state highway names and new signs for two other segments of the road.
Austin Avenue in Georgetown is no longer called Business 35. While the entire length of the road will retain the name Austin Avenue, the road now has numbered state designations for two different segments. From Williams Drive to NE Inner Loop on the north side of town, Austin Avenue is called State Spur 158 on the state highway system. From SE Inner Loop to Leander Road/FM 1460 on the south side of town, Austin Avenue is designated State Spur 26 on the state system.
Under state regulations, Austin Avenue is no longer considered a business loop, but rather two unconnected state highway spurs. Between Williams Drive and Leander Road/FM 1460, Austin Avenue will not have an alternate designation by TXDOT. The reason is that the City of Georgetown has taken over jurisdiction and maintenance of Austin Avenue in this segment, so it is no longer part of the state highway system.
The transfer of the middle section of Austin Avenue from the state system to the City’s jurisdiction was requested by the Georgetown city council in 2005 and approved by TXDOT in 2006. As part of the transfer agreement, TXDOT repaved Austin Avenue in the summer of 2007. Installation of new road signs is the last step in the transfer process.
Ownership of Austin Avenue in the downtown area gives the City more flexibility to implement changes to road design elements such as traffic lanes, medians, bridges, crosswalks, signals, and driveway locations.
For details, contact Mark Miller, transportation services manager for the City of Georgetown, at mmiller@georgetowntx.org or (512) 930-2576.
[...] Georgetown Chamber of Commerce’s blog today alerted me to an article on the City of Georgetown’s blog about behind-the-scene [...]