KTMPO taking input on Thoroughfare Plan

Planning group recommends upgrade in designation for several Salado roads

By Tim Fleischer

Editor-in-chief

Killeen-Temple Metropolitan Planning Organization (KTMPO) is taking public comment on its draft Bell County Thoroughfare Plan, a 40-page document that will be used in coming years for planning purposes by Texas Deepartment of Transportation and other governing entities that build road and street infrastructure.

Public comment cards can be found at https://ktmpo.org. They can be filled and emailed to ktmpo@ctcog.org or to KTMPO planning manager james.mcgill@ctcog.org or mailed to KTMPO, 2180 N. Main St. Belton, TX 76513, For questions, call 254-770-2366. Deadline for public comments on the draft plan is March 6, 2023.

The draft plan can be viewed in full at https://ktmpo.org/planning/special-studies/ along with maps of existing roads and proposed roads.

The draft plan defines various types of roadways, to include Interstates, Major Arterial, Minor Arterial, Collector and Local.   

Interstates: Bell County has two interstates, I-35 and I-14 with 57.72 total miles. There is no direct land access and facilities are designed to carry high volumes of traffic at high speeds over long distances.

Major Arterial Roads are access-managed roadways, characterized by considerable length roadways that provide continuity throughout the area. general design standards call for a 130’ minimum right-of-way for a four-lane facility, with 160’ desirable for six lanes. A travel lane width of 12’ as specified is common for existing Major Arterials in the KTMPO region, but Complete Streets and Vision Zero guidance calls for narrowing travel lanes to 11’ to slow traffic to speeds that are safer for all road users. According to the draft plan, there are 120.02 miles of Major Arterials in the county.

Minor Arterial are designed for fast, heavy traffic and are generally provided in a grid system. General design standards call for a minimum right-of-way of 80’ for three lanes, increasing to 110’ for four lanes. The desirable right-of-way is 120’, which will accommodate five lanes. There are 128.74 miles of Minor Arterials in the county.

Collectors provide a greater balance between mobility and land access. With mobility as a less critical attribute, narrower lane widths of 11’ are recommended, although widths as narrow as 10’ are cited in Complete Streets and Vision Zero guidelines. Shared auto and bicycle outside lanes may be as narrow as 14’. Minimum right-of-way of 60’ for two lanes and 70’ for three lanes are listed in the guidance. For four lanes, a desirable right-of-way is 80’. There are 456.74 miles Major Collector roads and 110.05 miles of Minor Collector Roads in the county.

Local Roads are neighborhood roads that connect to Collector Roads. There are 2,102.41 miles of Local Roads in the county.

Bell County has a total of 2,980.27 miles of roads.

The draft plan recommends changes to classifications of several roads in Salado ISD, including these upgrades in classification to minor arterial: FM 1670; FM 2484; FM 2268; FM 2843; Armstrong Rd.; Crows Ranch Rd (upgrade);

The following roads in Salado are proposed for upgrades in classification to Major Collector: Blackberry Rd.; Brewer Rd.; East Amity; Royal St.; Salado Heights Dr.;Thomas Arnold Rd.;West Amity Rd.; Kuykendall Branch (upgrade); Solana Ranch Rd. (upgrade); 

The plan proposes new roads in Salado to include  and FM 2484 to FM 2843 connector east of Cedar Valley as a Minor Arterial; Royal St. extension from Armstrong to Krause as a Major Collector; FM 1670 extension from FM 2484 to Kuykendall Branch Rd. as a Major Collector.