The city of Bastrop approved the installation of new speed limit signs along Agnes Street. 

The details: There will be six speed limit signs—three facing eastbound and three facing westbound—that the Streets and Drainage Department will install, according to city documents.

“These signs are being installed along Agnes Street to promote safety, consistency and efficient traffic flow for motorists using the corridor,” Bastrop Police Chief Vicky Steffanic said in a staff report. 

Each speed limit sign will be marked for 30 mph, according to city documents. 

Learn more about bond-funded construction projects in Bastrop ISD, based on the district's most recent construction report.

What happened? BISD Director of Construction and Planning Lee Raspberry provided an update on several bond-funded projects. 

• Schedule: January 2025-May 2026
• Scope of work: 35,500-square-foot campus expansion
• Status: 78% complete

• Schedule: May 2025-December 2027
• Scope of work: 38,000-square-foot addition in permitting phase, new classroom wing and continued renovations
• Status: 25% complete

The Austin Blues Festival will return to Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park this spring, presented by Antone's Nightclub and Waterloo Greenway Conservancy.

The two-day festival celebrates music and culture and started in 1999. This year is the festival’s fourth edition and will celebrate Antone’s 50-year lease extension.

The details: The lineup will feature a variety of artists including:

• Parliament Funkadelic ft. George Clinton
• Jimmie Vaughan & Friends
• BADBADNOTGOOD
• Eric Johnson
• Larkin Poe
• Adrian Quesada's Boleros Psicodélicos
• The War and Treaty, Chaparelle
• Los Amigos Invisibles
• D.K. Harrell
• Annie & The Caldwells
• Huston-Tillotson Jazz Orchestra
• Second line parades from Pinettes Brass Band & New Breed Brass Band

Check out six upcoming, ongoing or completed transportation projects around the Austin metro, from work along I-35 to Bastrop, Hays and Williamson County projects.

Upcoming projects
FM 812 improvement project
Project: The project will upgrade FM 812 from US 183 in Travis County to Hwy. 21 in Bastrop County to improve safety and mobility and reduce congestion. 
Update: Design plans are expected to be finalized in the spring.

• Timeline: full project completion TBD
• Cost: $145 million
• Funding source: Texas State Highway Fund

• Timeline: 2022-2028
• Cost: $548 million
• Funding source: TxDOT and CAMPO

Two Democratic candidates are running to lead the Texas General Land Office in the upcoming March 3 primary election.

The big picture: Benjamin Flores and Jose Loya are vying for the Democratic nomination for Texas land commissioner. The winning Democratic candidate will face Republican incumbent Dawn Buckingham in November, and the winner of that election will begin serving as land commissioner in January 2027.

Buckingham, who is seeking a second four-year term as land commissioner, is running uncontested in the Republican primary. Community Impact runs candidate Q&As for contested races only.

The context: The General Land Office manages 13 million acres of state lands, with duties such as allocating disaster recovery funds, leasing state lands to generate revenue for the state's Permanent School Fund, preserving state landmarks such as the Alamo and overseeing several veterans programs. It is Texas’ oldest state agency, according to its website.