Copperas Cove Advances Phase Two of Business 190 Medians, Drainage, Sidewalks

City Manager Ryan Haverlah told the Copperas Cove council that the Texas Department of Transportation is prepared to draft an Advance Funding Agreement with the City of Copperas Cove for Phase 2 of improvements to Business U.S. 190, a project that will add medians, covered drainage structures and sidewalks between the intersection of Business 190 and Avenue D and the intersection of Robertson Avenue. Phase 2 is a little more than 1/2-mile long, and city officials said the project funding comes from state and federal roadway funds.

City staff describe the work as part of a multi-phase corridor program. Materials presented to the council call Phase 2 "the second of five phases" and also list "four more phases of median, drainage, and sidewalk work to be done along Business 190." The original project language characterizes the improvements as "designed to improve pedestrian safety, traffic flow and", phrasing included in city materials as presented.

On Tuesday evening during the Copperas Cove city council workshop, the council heard a presentation from Bobby Lewis, Director of Development Services, laying out the Phase 2 limits and scope. Haverlah sought confirmation from the council that the city should proceed with TxDOT drafting the Advance Funding Agreement, asking whether that remained "the direction they still wanted to go with the project."

Councilmember John Hale proposed a near-term engagement timetable, suggesting the city "hold the meetings in April," with the council to "make recommendations for any changes to the project by early summer." Those suggested dates frame the next public and internal review points the city has identified for Phase 2 questions on design, pedestrian accommodations and traffic operations.

City staff also warned that any scope changes would trigger formal project-management steps. Officials said that "if the City Council requests any scope changes, the city would need to work with the engineer to rescope and cost projects for resubmission to the KTMPO for projects and evaluate scoring impacts on the remaining phases, such as if the medians were removed from the project proposals and just drainage and sidewalks addressed." That linkage to KTMPO scoring means council decisions on medians or sidewalks could change how later phases rank for state and federal funds.

The immediate administrative steps are clear: TxDOT drafting the Advance Funding Agreement for Phase 2, city scheduling of the April meetings John Hale recommended, and council review with recommendations by early summer. Those items will determine whether the corridor program continues with the medians, covered drainage and sidewalks as proposed or is rescoped in ways that could affect funding and the sequencing of future phases along Business 190.