New Braunfels City Council has signed off on an $82,950 contract with Cobb, Fendley & Associates to begin acquiring land along South Kowald Lane, one step toward a $10,739,000 roadway overhaul connecting I-35 to FM 1101. The firm will handle right-of-way, drainage easements, sight-distance easements, and temporary construction easements across 12 parcels of land, with construction not expected to start until 2028.
The council action, approved September 28, is detailed by Community Impact Newspaper, which reports that council also approved an additional expenditure of up to $300,000 for right-of-way and easements. Both the consultant fee and the acquisition funding will be drawn from the city's voter-approved 2023 bond program, according to the same report. The distinction matters: the $82,950 pays Cobb, Fendley & Associates for appraisal and negotiation work, while the $300,000 is the separate pool of money that will actually go toward purchasing easements and property rights from landowners.
What Drivers Can Expect When Work Begins
Once built, the South Kowald Lane project will include a center turn lane between I-35 and FM 1101, sidewalks on both sides of the street, upgraded traffic signals, and drainage infrastructure improvements, per the Community Impact report. Separate city bond design plans show the current two-lane corridor expanding into 12-foot driving lanes with a 14-foot center turn lane and 6-foot sidewalks, with new signals planned at major intersections including I-35, Sophie Lane, and FM 1101 near Freiheit Elementary School, according to the City of New Braunfels.
A state regulatory filing adds further specificity to the timeline. The city registered the project with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in August 2026 under filing number TABS2026028766, naming Poznecki-Camarillo, LLC as the design firm, with construction scheduled to start June 1, 2028, and wrap up by July 31, 2030, according to Comal.News. That filing covers 475,397 square feet of new construction and requires the owner to request a state accessibility inspection within 30 calendar days after completion; the inspection is required within one year of completion, the outlet reports.
Part Of A Bigger Bond-Funded Push
South Kowald Lane is one of eight major transportation projects funded under Proposition A of the city's 2023 bond package, which New Braunfels voters approved in May 2023 as part of a $140.045 million bond total with no projected increase to the city tax rate, per the City of New Braunfels. Proposition A set aside $99.33 million for transportation projects citywide, including $24.8 million for Common Street, $14.3 million for Kohlenberg Road, $11.8 million for Conrads Lane, $10.8 million for South Kowald Lane, $7.6 million for Barbarosa Road/Saur Lane, and $4.8 million for Solms Road, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Cobb, Fendley & Associates is becoming a familiar name in these bond rollouts. The same firm was authorized in September to manage right-of-way acquisitions for 13 parcels along Conrads Lane, capping its combined fees for both the Conrads Lane and South Kowald Lane contracts at $178,585 across 25 properties, according to a city account relayed via a local Facebook group. Council separately approved a $1.3 million right-of-way acquisition expenditure with the same firm in April to secure 62 parcels along Common Street, that project's four-lane widening between Loop 337 and FM 306, as Community Impact Newspaper previously reported. The pattern reflects a broader municipal approach: hire specialized acquisition firms to clear right-of-way issues years before construction crews arrive, since the Comal.News filing shows securing easements across the 12 South Kowald Lane parcels requires significant lead time even with construction still two years away.
Why The Corridor Matters To Growing Neighborhoods
South Kowald Lane itself connects I-35, FM 1101, Freiheit Elementary School, and newer apartment developments such as the Prose apartment complex north of Canyon High School, planned with 14 three-story buildings and 753 surface parking spaces, according to MySA.
That growth is citywide. New Braunfels had 57,740 residents in 2010 and 98,857 in 2022. For now, the $82,950 contract marks only the administrative groundwork — the heavier construction work, and its disruption to the corridor, remains slated for 2028.
