$1.8M to finally pave safer walk to school

SMITHVILLE — After years of delays, Smithville has secured $1.8 million from the Texas Department of Transportation to improve safe pedestrian access across the city.

The award was approved Aug. 5 and combines funding from two state programs — Safe Routes to School and Transportation Alternatives — with a required $359,000 local match. The project will build sidewalks along Martin Luther King Drive with a total budget of $2.7 million, according to city reports.

“We have been working for years to secure funding to construct a sidewalk on MLK that provides the community with a safe, ADA-compliant pedestrian route,” City Manager Robert Tamble said.