Williamson County officials broke ground on a new segment of the Ronald Reagan Boulevard expansion in Georgetown on Oct. 7.

About the project: This portion of the project will construct two new southbound lanes from Williams Drive to CR 245. The existing road will become the northbound lanes, separated by a median, according to a county news release.

“Ronald Reagan Boulevard is a vital roadway. As neighborhoods like Sun City, Parmer Ranch, Highland Village and Somerset Ranch continue to expand the area will continue to be a magnet for both residential and commercial growth,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said in a statement.

The 2.4-mile project will cost approximately $27 million and is anticipated to be completed by summer 2028, the release states.

The history: The Ronald Reagan Boulevard expansion project is broken into five main segments. The full corridor covers about 30 miles from Cedar Park to Georgetown, with plans to expand the road into an eight-lane divided highway.

The Williamson County Elections Department received 18,762 voter registration records to process as a result of a state backlog caught in September, Communications Manager Connie Odom confirmed.

The department has had to hire additional staff and schedule overtime to process the additional applications, Odom said.

What happened

Texas county registrars began receiving a high volume of new voter registrations and updates to voter registration records all at once in late September, several counties reported.

The backlogged records dated back to October 2025, Williamson County officials stated in a Sept. 24 Facebook post.

The error came from a technological issue from the Texas Department of Public Safety—which can process voter registration applications and updates through its online driver's license portal.

What voters should know

Anyone who registered through DPS on or before Oct. 5 is eligible for the November election even if the county processes the record later.

Those affected after registering online through DPS can still cast a provisional ballot.

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The Texas comptroller's office is reviewing the finances and spending decisions of four public school districts: Austin, El Paso, Prosper and Barbers Hill ISDs.

The overview: The review was requested by Gov. Greg Abbott in August and will identify whether schools are directing taxpayer dollars toward students, teachers and classrooms over administrative costs, according to information from the two state agencies.

Zooming in: For the 2024-25 school year, the Texas Education Agency gave the selected districts the following financial ratings:

• Austin ISD: B rating; score of 88 (about 69,000 students)

• El Paso ISD: A rating; score of 92 (about 46,000 students)

• Prosper ISD: A rating; score of 94 (about 33,000 students)

• Barbers Hill ISD: A rating; score of 100 (about 8,000 students)

More details: Austin and Prosper ISDs are in Community Impact's coverage areas. According to previous reporting, Austin ISD passed an $887 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2026-27 after making $205 million in gross cuts this summer. Prosper ISD adopted a budget with an expected $42.2 million shortfall.