On Williams Drive between Serenada Drive and Lakeway Drive, the painted center lane used to let a driver turn left into almost any driveway. That lane is now being cut out. Since mid-September, crews have been milling the pavement six inches deep to pour concrete for a raised median. The City of Georgetown's construction announcement says that once the work begins, "drivers will no longer be able to make left turns across the roadway in this section."
Williams Drive isn't the only road changing. Shell Road and D.B. Wood Road are also under construction in the same part of town, and both are being rebuilt with a median down the middle. Taken together, the three projects change how northwest Georgetown handles the left turn. The old two-lane roads and center-lane strips let you turn wherever you wanted. The new divided roads limit left turns to set points, and everything else becomes a right turn followed by another route.
What the Median Replaces on Williams Drive
This phase of the Williams Drive Enhancement Project runs from Serenada Drive to Lakeway Drive. Along with the median, it adds street lighting and landscaping and upgrades intersections and traffic signals. The city's release says access to neighborhoods and businesses will remain:
"Access to neighborhoods and businesses will remain available, though some traffic movements and access points will change."
Community Impact reported the same terms when the phase started. The center turn lane goes away, and left turns across the roadway end in this section.
The contractor, Dan Williams, started with the median between Serenada and Sports Clips Way. The city's project log says traffic in that area dropped to one lane in each direction and would stay that way until the travel lanes could be shifted to open two. The contractor's plan is to keep the milling crew one or two medians ahead of the concrete crew, so the narrow stretch keeps moving down the road as the work goes.
You can see that movement on the city's closure list. In its Oct. 29 update, the city had Williams Drive at one lane each way, with the center turn lane closed, from Wagon Wheel Trail to Lakeway Drive Oct. 26 through Nov. 1. From Nov. 2 through 8, the same restriction moved to Serenada Drive through Golden Oaks Drive. If you take Williams Drive to errands on the west side, the slow spot this week may not be where it was last week.
The city's project page puts completion at Aug. 13, 2027, and the release says late 2027, depending on weather, field conditions and how the work goes.
The Plan Behind Fewer Left Turns
The full enhancement project covers Williams Drive from Austin Avenue to Jim Hogg Road, and the city lists the raised-median stretch as Serenada Drive to the I-35 service road. The Williams Drive corridor recommendation report says the goal plainly. It aims to reduce left-turn movements and manage access through strategic driveway closures, and it puts medians first.
The project also adds something besides the median. In an August roundup, Community Impact described the medians project as running from I-35 to Serenada Drive with turn lanes and a shared-use path on the north side of the road. It listed a $19.7 million cost, paid for by the city, traffic impact fees, federal grants and tax increment financing. So drivers lose the turn-anywhere center lane, and people on foot or bike get a path along the north side.
Shell Road Is Being Rebuilt the Same Way
A short drive away, Shell Road is getting the same kind of rebuild. The Shell Road project covers 1.1 miles from Williams Drive to Sycamore Street. It turns a two-lane road with no center divider into a four-lane arterial with a raised median, a shared-use path, curb and gutter, and left and right turn lanes at the cross streets.
The cross streets are where left turns will be concentrated. A 2023 Community Impact summary listed added turn lanes at Williams Drive, Skyflower Drive, Madrid Drive, Sycamore Street and Bellaire Drive, plus a new signal and turn lanes at Village Commons Boulevard and Rosedale Boulevard. In its Sept. 21 entry, the project log said street lights and signals were installed at Rosedale but not yet turned on.
The Oct. 26 entry gives the latest picture. The Williams Drive and Shell Road intersection was expected to be finished by early November. Signal detection was complete on Williams Drive at Shell Road and at D.B. Wood, and new striping had been added for safety. Crews were working on the westbound turn lane onto Williams Drive and preparing base material for the northbound side from just south of Verde Vista up to Madrid. Sidewalks and walls were going in, and storm drainage was about 95% done.
Shell Road is also on the city's weekly closure list. It has intermittent lane closures with flaggers from Williams Drive north to Sycamore Street, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The project's estimated completion date is Dec. 31, 2027, which is a few months after the Williams Drive median.
D.B. Wood Road Has Just Started
The third project is on the road that meets Williams Drive at the same signal the Shell Road crews just wired. The D.B. Wood Road project widens 2.3 miles, from Oak Ridge Road to the Public Safety Operations and Training Center near Williams Drive, into four lanes with a median and a shared-use path. According to the project fact sheet, it will be a divided arterial with turn lanes where needed, and the bridge over the San Gabriel River will be widened.
The work is in two phases. Phase A runs from Oak Ridge Road to Cedar Breaks Road. Phase B continues from Cedar Breaks to the training center. Jordan Foster has the Phase A contract, and its crews mobilized on Oct. 19, 2026. The first traffic effect was alternating one-way traffic with flaggers between Oak Ridge Road and Cedar Breaks Road, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Nov. 2 through 6. The estimated completion date is Oct. 21, 2027.
The Three Roads Side by Side
| Road | Segment | What it's becoming | Status as of late October | Estimated finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams Drive | Serenada Drive to Lakeway Drive | Raised center median, no left turns across the road in this section, new lighting, landscaping and signals | Median work underway since mid-September, with one lane each way at times | Aug. 13, 2027 |
| Shell Road | Williams Drive to Sycamore Street | Four lanes, raised median, shared-use path, turn lanes at cross streets | Williams Drive intersection expected done by early November; storm drainage about 95% complete | Dec. 31, 2027 |
| D.B. Wood Road | Oak Ridge Road to near Williams Drive | Four lanes, median, shared-use path, wider San Gabriel River bridge | Phase A crews mobilized Oct. 19 | Oct. 21, 2027 |
All three roads are moving the same way. Each is replacing a road where you could turn left almost anywhere with a divided road where left turns are planned at intersections and signals. All three are scheduled to finish within about five months of each other in 2027. Until then, the routes northwest Georgetown uses for errands will be under construction at several points at once.
Keeping Up From Week to Week
The closures change by segment and by week, so last month's detour may no longer work. These are the city's own channels:
- The weekly closure list. The city's Street and Lane Closures page gives the date range and the cross streets for each restriction.
- Project updates by email. The Williams Drive project page has a sign-up for construction progress, traffic changes and lane closures.
- A direct line to the project team. Questions about the Williams Drive work go to [email protected] or 512-354-2627.
- Live traffic apps. The city's closure page points drivers to Waze and Google Maps for real-time conditions, and says closures the city reports show up on both. It also offers a separate map view for the Sun City area.
Over the next year, each new segment of median will take away more of the old turn-anywhere left turns on these three roads. The closure page lists the next segments as they're scheduled.
I keep up with Georgetown's road construction because it affects everyone, whether you're staying put, hosting family for the holidays, or planning a move. If you have questions about how the Williams Drive, Shell Road or D.B. Wood work might affect your plans in northwest Georgetown, Denise Arndt is happy to talk it through. Contact Denise for a personalized consultation.
