Copperas Cove: Construction to begin on hotly debated Business 190 median, sidewalks

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press 

UPDATE 11/20: 

The Texas Department of Transportatin (TxDOT) announced on Friday 11/20 that the Business 190 median and sidewalks project will commence on Monday, Nov. 30. 

A project that has spurred on much debate among Copperas Cove residents is set to begin as soon as one week from Friday. 

The bid for the Business 190 median and sidewalks project has been awarded and is expected to begin around Friday, Nov. 20, confirmed Jake Smith, public information officer for the Waco District of the Texas Department of Transportation. According to Smith, the project will be completed in about 20 months. 

The project keeps three lanes of traffic for eastbound and westbound Business 190, and will have a dedicated four-foot bicycle lane and a six-foot sidewalk on the south side. The project goes from the F.M. 1113 (Avenue D) intersection to the intersection at Constitution Drive.

Smith released the Sequence of Construction document to the Leader-Press. 

The document notes that the first phase will consist of signs being posted prior to the work commencing, noting road work, work zone delineation, and warnings about traffic fines being double in the construction area. It has not been confirmed if there will be any speed adjustments along the construction route.  

Phase one’s focus is the south side of the project, to include removal of any existing sidewalks, to be followed by installation of new sidewalks, curb and gutter, concrete walkways, driveways, and curb inlets. The landscaped terrace that faces the highway between Nauert and Easy street will also be installed as part of phase one. 

The second phase of the project will include the medians themselves, to include the curb and gutter portions except for the left turn sections, and to place the rip-rap/pavers within the median sections. 

The third phase of the project will include micro mill and tom overlay, along with be the curb and gutter in the left turn median sections, and any rip-rap/pavers not already installed. The final phase will be pavement markings and permanent sign installation. 

TTG Utilities’ bid for the project was $4,762,516.85, with the project having an original estimated budget of $10,000,000. The City of Copperas Cove paid for the project design, out of a budgeted $1,000,000 from the city’s annual certificate of obligation bonds. 

The funds for the median and sidewalk construction themselves come from a combination of Federal and State transportation funds, awarded to the city. An additional $410,000 in funding comes from the Governor’s Community Achievement Award grants given to the Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful Commission in 2013 and 2017, to be used for beautification along a TxDOT roadway within the city.

These funds will be used to create a terraced landscape that will be installed where a current concrete riprap exists along Bus. 190.

Funds for the overall project were allocated to the city by the Killeen Temple Metropolitan Planning Organization back in May 2017, after it was ranked as one of the highest priority projects submitted to KTMPO by area cities and counties. 

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.

The project has received both criticism and praises from residents and business owners, with some citing that the medians will prevent unrestricted access to businesses along the corridor, with others citing safety issues along the seven lanes of roadway.