KTMPO policy board approves changes to Bus. 190 median project

By LYNETTE SOWELL 
Cove Leader-Press 

The Killeen Temple Metropolitan Planning Organization’s transportation planning policy board gave a unanimous thumbs-up to requested changes to phase 1 of the Business 190 median project on Wednesday morning.
The changes were part of several amendments the board approved Wednesday for KTMPO’s four year Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) for fiscal years 2019-2022 as well as the 2040 Transportation Master Plan (TMP). KTMPO held a 15-day public comment period, which included two public meetings, one in Copperas Cove and the other in Belton, during which it received written comments regarding the amendments. KTMPO also accepted comments via its website. 
The changes to phase 1 include keeping three lanes of traffic for eastbound and westbound Business 190, and instead of a 10-foot shared bicycle and pedestrian sidewalk, having a dedicated four-foot bicycle lane and a six-foot sidewalk on the south side of phase 1. 
John Weber, a planner for the Central Texas Council of Governments, shared that there were a total of 37 public comments received. Of those comments, Weber said eight were in support of the amendment and no comments were opposed to the amendment. For the Business 190 median project as a whole, there were four comments in favor and 19 opposed to the project. KTMPO also received six comments that did not specify the amendment or the project as a whole. 
Next up for the project is the matter of a timeline, with BSP Engineering having stopped the design at this point, pending the outcome of the city council’s decision at its Oct. 2 meeting and ultimately the KTMPO policy board’s approval of the amendments. 
Kevin Keller, the City of Copperas Cove’s public information officer, said that the city will meet with KTMPO and TxDOT reps next week to work on that timeline.
During its Oct. 2 meeting, the city council approved an additional $72,000 to be spent from the total $1,000,000 in certificates of obligation bonds the council previously approved issuing earlier this year, with the $1,000,000 being earmarked for the Business 190 design. The additional $72,000 was approved contingent upon KTMPO’s approval of the revised project. So far, the city has spent a total of $518,875 on the design phase and engineering analysis. 
According to KTMPO’s agenda information, the project is still anticipated to cost a total of $10,000,000 in category 2 transportation funding. 
KTMPO receives prioritized transportation projects from cities within the organization, and doles out funding based on those scored projects. KTMPO is made up of representatives from area cities and counties, to include Bell, Coryell and Lampasas Counties, along with the cities of Copperas Cove, Killeen, Harker Heights, Belton, Temple, as well as the Brownwood and Waco districts of the Texas Department of Transportation.