Category Archives: River Place

$18 million RM 620/RM 2222 bypass project is fully funded Community urged to attend public hearing Thurs. Oct. 26

By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

After five years in the making, the $18 million RM 620 and RM 2222 bypass road project is officially funded: $10.5 million from Texas Department of Transportation and $7.5 million from the city of Austin, according to TxDOT.

“We’ve been pushing for a solution since 2012. The good news is that the funding is officially approved at the state level for this project,” said Brian Thompto, Steiner Ranch Neighborhood Association chairman and resident advocate for the bypass project since day one.

The RM 2222 and RM 620/Bullick Hollow Road intersection experiences significant congestion. TxDOT has done the research and concludes that adding travel capacity in the form of a new bypass road along with road improvements will improve mobility. Projections show that travel times could be reduced by about 60 percent, and help maintain safe access to and from Vandegrift High School and Four Points Middle School.

On Thursday, Oct. 26, TxDOT is conducting a public hearing at Vandegrift to present the project information and gather public input on proposed improvements to RM 2222 and RM 620. Continue reading →

VHS Football Preview Lehman at Vandegrift Monroe Stadium Friday, Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m.

 

VHS coach Drew Sanders talking to Viper players at the Sept. 22 game vs Harker Heights. Photo by Bill Seitzler

Vandegrift players taking the field at the Sept. 22 game vs Harker Heights. Photo by Bill Seitzler

With arguably the toughest test on their 25-6A schedule out of the way, the Vipers (2-3, 0-1) return to Monroe Stadium for a homecoming matchup with Lehman on Friday.

Justin Moore’s mastery of the offense has been on display the last three weeks, and it will be needed again, as the Vipers have struggled in all three losses with the run game. In two wins, Vandegrift amassed 361 yards on the ground. In three losses, the Vipers averaged just 40 rushing yards in each outing.

“Justin is getting better with each game and being able to handle the pressure of being a 6A starting quarterback. It’s a big job and he’s been up to the task,” said Vipers head coach Drew Sanders.

Defensively, Vandegrift has shown it can stand toe to toe with one of the best teams in the state. Lehman won’t be that kind of test for Vandegrift this week, but coach Sanders and the rest of the staff will be certain to focus on avoiding any sort of letdown while facing the 1-4 Lobos.

Lehman’s lone victory came against Austin Akins in Week 3, a game that marked the Lobos’ best offensive performance of the season, as they outscored Akins 42-35. Continue reading →

Kristin McLain’s Get Out Girl Paddle Jam


“Putting First Responders First”

By MADISON PHARIS
Four Points News

The 4th annual Kristin McLain’s Get Out Girl Paddle Jam will be held Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Steiner Ranch Lake Club where an estimated 100 women will paddle and raise funds and awareness for first responders.

The Get Out Girl Paddle Jam benefits Foundation 1023, a nonprofit organization created in honor of Kristin McLain, a Travis County STAR Flight nurse who was killed in a rescue accident in April 2015 in Austin. Foundation 1023 provides awareness and financial support for the mental and emotional wellness of first responders.

Paddlers at the 2015 Get Out Girl Paddle Jam on Lake Austin wave as a STAR Flight helicopter flies overhead. McLain was a STAR Flight nurse who lost her life in a rescue in April 2015.

Continue reading →

LISD continues permit pursuit for VHS road


Staff Reports

Leander ISD continued to work through the permitting process for an access road at Vandegrift High School, meeting last week with representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS).

District officials met with FWS on Sept. 13 to continue cooperatively working on a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) application.

LISD is seeking an Endangered Species Act (ESA) permit to construct the access road, supporting 3,700 students and staff who attend and work at Four Points MS and Vandegrift. The proposed route will run through a small portion on the edge of the Balcones Canyonland Preserve, if approved.

Continue reading →

Skotz, Action Marine to be affected by RM 2222 road changes

Some business owners on RM 2222 — including Skot Ingram of Skotz Inc. and Aaron Sher of Action Marine — say the proposed changes with the RM 620 bypass road will affect their business in a negative way.

By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

Some business owners on RM 2222 say the proposed changes with the RM 620 bypass road will affect their business in a negative way.

To help increase traffic flow in Four Points, Texas Department of Transportation is planning to create a connector road which would bypass the existing RM 620/RM 2222 intersection for traffic going to and from Steiner Ranch to McNeil Drive.

But some business owners say the issue is the road from the current RM 620 intersection to the new bypass road intersection. The changes would include replacing the center turn-lane with a divider or raised median. The current five-lane configuration, however, helps with getting big trucks and trailers in and out for some businesses.

“I’m very concerned about what’s going to happen,” said Skot Ingram. Fifty years ago, he bought the land where Skotz Inc. sits today and he has built the company to include 15 employees. “This is my livelihood,” he said.

Skotz is located next to Jiffy Lube at 11303 RM 2222 and creates steel products — some gigantic — for oil fields and wastewater projects, among other things.

Skot Ingram stands next to one of the pieces his company manufactures for the oil industry.

Skotz has large trucks including 18-wheelers and bobtails that load and deliver products each week or so. To safely move the oversized loads, RM 2222 is briefly closed in both directions. Ingram is concerned that the road barriers will make it impossible for him to move his product.

Action Marine, which is located near Target at 11118 RM 2222, will be affected too. Aaron Sher, who has been in his current location since 1992, has many customers each week stopping in for sales, service and parts.

“We have a lot of traffic coming in and out,” Sher said. “It is scary. I don’t know how (the new configuration) will affect business.” Continue reading →