For years, drivers along 183A Toll between Avery Ranch Boulevard and Ranch Road 1431 have had exactly one free option when they didn't want to pay the toll: detour onto U.S. Route 183. That's because this stretch of the busy Williamson County corridor has never had its own service road. Now, the Texas Department of Transportation is building one, and the new free lanes are expected to be ready by 2029.
The project will add a new portion of free service road along 183A between Avery Ranch Boulevard and RM 1431, according to KXAN Austin. Once finished, the free route will stretch from Avery Ranch Boulevard all the way to Texas Highway 29 in Liberty Hill, connecting to the existing frontage road that currently begins at Whitestone Boulevard and FM 1431. The 183A Toll Road itself links Austin, Cedar Park, Leander and Liberty Hill, and has been a key commuter corridor since drivers first started using it in 2007.
The scope of the work is substantial: construction will cover three miles of new roadway, according to the same report. TxDOT broke ground on the project on August 22, 2025, with preliminary construction and signage work having started the previous month, as reported by Community Impact. The outlet notes the project has actually been in the works since 2018, and TxDOT awarded the construction contract to Webber LLC earlier this year.
What Drivers Will Get
Beyond the new lanes themselves, the project includes a shared-use path that will be built on the northbound side of the roadway and will connect to the existing US 183 trailhead, per Community Impact's reporting. Community Impact also reports the new lanes will be non-tolled and grade-separated on each side of 183A Toll, running between RM 1431 and Avery Ranch Boulevard.
TxDOT has framed the project as a response to the region's rapid growth. The agency says increased growth and development in the area have necessitated creating relief routes to keep traffic flowing, according to the same Community Impact report. The new free lanes are also meant to help alleviate backup on the toll road while allowing traffic to continue flowing during maintenance periods, the outlet notes.
Timeline and Cost
The project carries a price tag of $139 million and is expected to be completed in 2029, weather permitting, Community Impact reports. TxDOT District Engineer Tucker Ferguson said the project would take about three and a half years to complete, a timeline that was detailed by KXAN following the August groundbreaking ceremony.
183A itself has grown considerably since it first opened. The road initially launched as an 11.6-mile toll road section running from Texas Highway 45 to New Hope Road in Cedar Park, and has since expanded all the way to Texas Highway 29 in Liberty Hill, according to KXAN's reporting. MJ Van, cited in that same report, said the project provides residents another driving route amid increasing area development — a sentiment that echoes TxDOT's own stated rationale for the build.
For now, drivers looking to avoid the toll along this stretch will keep relying on U.S. Route 183 as their detour. But once the new service road opens, that gap in the frontage system, which has existed since 183A's earliest days, will finally be closed.
