Bellmead’s $190M Loop 340 plan could ease traffic congestion

BELLMEAD – The price tag for a project to turn Loop 340 in the Bellmead area into a freeway in the coming years is now $190 million, more than double the cost of the original plans.

The expansion project would add two main lanes to the highway in each direction, plus inside and outside shoulders, two-lane frontage roads on each side of the highway, and sidewalks on the frontage roads. There would also be overpasses added over Williams Rd., Orchard Ln., Elk Rd., and SH 6, with frontage roads also built over the Brazos River.

The Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has already committed $26 million to the work from its Category 2 funding, state transportation money, and it is considering another $22 million Category 2 commitment. 

TxDOT has applied for a federal Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant for $110 million, which would cover the remaining $32 million with future Category 2 funding.

If the project receives the federal grant, the MPO and TxDOT could begin seeking bids for the project within the next couple of years.