Bastrop seeks $1.5M grant to complete Agnes Street, creating new east-west road and spurring economic development

28 Jan 2019


Constructing the extension of Agnes Street from Texas 304 to Hasler Boulevard would create a secondary east to west connection south of Texas 71 and open up possibilities for commercial or residential development along the new roadway, officials are claiming as the city competes for a grant from the Economic Development Administration.

On Tuesday, the Bastrop City Council approved applying for a $1.5 million grant to fund the extension of Agnes Street from the eastern edge of the Seton Family of Hospitals property to just west of Hasler Boulevard where Agnes Street currently ends.

The EDA has allocated $90 million in fiscal year 2018 to supplement appropriations for disaster recovery grants to support recovery activities in areas receiving a disaster designation due to Hurricane Harvey and other 2017 natural disasters. Bastrop County was included in the presidential disaster declaration granted to Texas in response to damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. The Category 4 Hurricane dropped 16 inches of rain in Bastrop and as many as 29 inches east of Smithville.

Agnes Street is currently being extended from Texas 304 to the eastern edge of the Seton property. The Bastrop Economic Development Corporation is funding the $1.25 million extension as part of its incentive deal with Seton, which is building a 40,000-square-foot neighborhood hospital near the Texas 304 and Texas 71 intersection.

The EDA grant would help pay for the continued extension of Agnes Street from the hospital’s property to Hasler Boulevard. If the extension is constructed, Agnes Street would connect Childers Drive to Texas 304.

“If we are fortunate enough to have this project awarded, it would be a significant game changer for us not only from a transportation standpoint but from an economic development standpoint,” Bastrop City Manager Lynda Humble said.

The grant requires a 20 percent local match, or $300,000, which Humble said the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation has agreed to fund.

Mike Kamerlander, the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation’s executive director, told the Advertiser on Wednesday that he committed to Humble that he supports the corporation covering the local match but the corporation’s board will have to approve it. The board is scheduled to take a vote on it at its regular meeting Monday.

To read the full article visit Statesman.com.