Court approves connector-road FEMA submission and $49,415 supplemental agreement for outer loop reports

Kaufman County commissioners approved two infrastructure-related actions March 17: submitting a hydraulic study to FEMA to allow mapping of a connector road and a $49,415 supplemental agreement with HDR to produce reports required by the Federal Highway Administration for the outer loop project.

Brenda, the county staff member presenting the item, said the $8,000 flat-fee hydraulic study completed by Teague Noland Perkins covers the South Highway 34175 Connector Road around the Justice Center and must be submitted to FEMA so the agency can update floodplain maps to show the connector road. Brenda said the county has $8,000 available in the project account to cover the study fee.

Separately, Brenda said TxDOT and the FHWA now require two additional reports as part of schematic development for the outer loop project: a vulnerable road-user report (to address pedestrian and bicycle access at major interchanges) and an intersection control evaluation (to determine whether a signalized intersection is preferable to alternatives such as roundabouts). HDR proposed $49,415 to prepare those reports; Brenda said $34,000 of that would be paid from remaining connector-road balances and $15,000 from bond-management funds. The court moved and approved the supplemental agreement.

Both items were characterized as necessary technical steps tied to state and federal project requirements; the court approved each by voice vote. The meeting record does not show additional mitigation conditions or a separate schedule for submitting the reports beyond the approvals recorded.