Williamson County commissioners voted Aug. 18 to formally support the expansion of I-35 through the county, a project led by the Texas Department of Transportation.

About the project: Commissioners requested that the expansion include a minimum of two additional non-tolled lanes in each direction, two managed lanes in each direction, and collector or distributor roads through Round Rock, according to county documents.

The project will support the region’s population growth, which increased by 23.6% from April 2020 to July 2025, and is projected to reach over a million residents by 2045, documents state.

This population growth is expected to increase average daily traffic in the Austin-area from 244,450 vehicles on I-35 in 2018 to around 367,900 vehicles by 2050, according to county documents.

What else? The deadline to submit formal comments regarding the project is Aug. 28, Precinct 2 commissioner Cynthia Long said. 

Sri Sai Flowers, a South Asian floral and gift shop, is now open in the Renaissance Square retail center in Round Rock.

About the business: Locally owned by Lakshmi Manikanta, the business offers fresh cut flowers and bouquets as well as wedding, event and funeral garlands.

Manikanta said the shop also carries jewelry, gifts and festival items such as turmeric and vermillion powder, henna, and saris.

Manikanta also owns the Cedar Park location of Sri Sai Flowers.

• 1401 S. I-35, Ste. 190, Round Rock

A data center in Cedar Creek, a new building for the Austin Community College Hays Campus and renovations at Liberal Arts and Science Academy are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. EDCAUS ($700 million): A data center campus is being developed in Bastrop County.

2. Austin Community College - Hays Campus ($101 million): A three-story Health Sciences instructional building with classrooms, administrative offices, a testing center, vocational training, instructional spaces, and laboratories will be constructed at the Austin Community College Hays Campus.

3. LASA High School ($21.3 million): Renovations will take place at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin.

4. Bartlett's South ($4 million): A new location of Bartlett’s steakhouse is coming to Austin.

5. Smart Stop ($1.5 million): A new one-story convenience store and two future tenant spaces are coming to Pflugerville.

Republican incumbent John Carter will face off against Democratic candidate Justin Early and Green Party candidate Greg Stoker in the Nov. 3 election for U.S. House District 31.

Digging deeper: Texas' 31st Congressional District covers part of Williamson County, including Round Rock, Georgetown, Liberty Hill, Leander, Cedar Park and Hutto. Created in 2003, the district has been represented by Carter since its inception.

Community Impact reached out to all candidates who filed to run in the U.S. House District 31 race. Candidates were asked to keep responses under 50 words, answer the questions provided and avoid attacking opponents.

The Texas Department of Insurance must take action to promote competition and “prohibit excessive or unfairly discriminatory rate setting" in the state's homeowners insurance market, Gov. Greg Abbott said Aug. 24.

The background: Texans are paying the fourth-highest home insurance premiums in the nation, Community Impact previously reported. State data shows that the average Texas home insurance premium nearly doubled from $1,791 in 2016 to $3,506 in 2025.

The details: Abbott asked the TDI to prohibit insurers from using the age of a home and homeowners' personal data when setting rates; create a task force targeting insurance fraud; study the impact of inflated insurance claims; and require insurers to consider a homeowner's participation in a roof fortification program when writing policies.

Another perspective: "Under Greg Abbott, Texas has been one of the most expensive states in the country to own and maintain a home," Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor, said in a statement. "If Abbott really wanted to lower costs, he would have done it in the last 12 years."