Residents on Round Rock’s west side will soon have a true alternative to I-35 once the city and county complete the full extension of Wyoming Springs Drive, officials said in June. Ongoing and future road projects are set to help drivers and pedestrians reach their destinations faster and with less traffic.

What's happening: Construction on the second phase, connecting Creek Bend Boulevard to Old Settlers Boulevard and adding an overpass at Hairy Man Road, is set to be completed this fall.

County projects are also enhancing connectivity in this part of the city. Williamson County marked the completion of a bond-funded project to widen and improve Sam Bass Road in April.

The big picture: The city of Round Rock and Williamson County are working to address the transportation needs of current and future residents west of I-35.
One of the ways the city plans for future development is by building arterial roads long before such development arrives, Assistant Director of Transportation Infrastructure Gerald Pohlmeyer said. 

A new gelato shop is planned for Round Rock's east side, according to a recent project filing. 

What's new: A project filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on July 10 shows plans for a Round Rock location of iScream Gelato at the northeast corner of East Palm Valley Boulevard and Kenney Fort Boulevard. 

The details: Per the project filing, work to build the gelato shop will cost about $200,000 and last from the end of July to late October. 

About the business: The company opened its first Texas location in Plano in 2024. 

As previously reported by Community Impact, the gelato shop uses fresh ingredients sourced from Italy to make gourmet, handcrafted desserts in a variety of flavors, milkshakes, bubble waffle cones, Belgian waffles, pancakes, crepes, an assortment of espresso beverages and affogatos and more.

Williamson County commissioners are considering slowing down the justice center complex project, which plans to construct a jail and courtrooms near SE Inner Loop in Georgetown, in order to prioritize community engagement.

Officials discussed the next steps of the project at a July 21 Commissioners Court meeting.

The current situation: The county is currently wrapping up Phase 2 of planning for the new justice center complex, a project that began a year ago with an initial needs assessment. Although the county has purchased a site for the project, commissioners said they have not authorized final designs, contractors or any actual construction.

Commissioners are pushing to slow down the process to rebuild public trust and actively engage local residents, the school district and the city of Georgetown, Precinct 4 commissioner Russ Boles said at the meeting.

What's next: County Manager Rebecca Clemons plans to bring a proposal for public engagement and to begin preliminary design concepts to the first Commissioners Court meeting in August.

With large parts of the state under an extreme heat warning or heat advisory through July 23, the operator of Texas’ independent power grid is projecting record-breaking electric demand this week.

What's happening: As of 3 p.m. July 22, there were 90,027 megawatts of demand on the grid with 113,543 megawatts of power available, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' real-time supply and demand dashboard. One megawatt of electricity can power about 250 homes during peak times.

This would break ERCOT’s current demand record of 85.5 gigawatts, which was set during an August 2023 heat wave. ERCOT spokesperson Trudi Webster cautioned that this week’s demand records are preliminary.

What it means: Texans should not expect a grid emergency during this week’s extreme heat.

ERCOT previously projected that demand would surpass 92,000 megawatts this summer, due to high temperatures, moderate rainfall and the growth of data centers.

This week's triple-digit temperatures come during the sunniest parts of the day, allowing the state to rely in part on solar energy to power the grid.