A traffic relief route, shown by the dark-colored lines, will begin at the intersection of U.S. Highway 190 and Farm-to-Market Road 2657 in Copperas Cove. The bypass will reconnect with the current U.S. 190 -- which will be renamed “Business 190” -- at the east end of Copperas Cove. COURTESY TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION The city of Copperas Cove and the Killeen-Temple Metropolitan Planning Organization are acquiring funding for a bypass route that may allow motorists to avoid Copperas Cove’s most congested highway sections.

The traffic relief route will begin at the intersection of U.S. Highway 190 and Farm-to-Market Road 2657, and will reconnect with U.S. 190 at the east end of Copperas Cove. The $55 million project is intended to relieve traffic congestion on U.S. 190 between Killeen and the west end of Copperas Cove.

Although no construction date has been set, KTMPO has named the bypass its greatest priority, and $42 million in state funds tentatively have been earmarked for the new road by 2013, said Ken Roberts, public information officer for the Texas Department of Transportation’s Waco District.

The bypass will be located almost exclusively in the Waco District, which includes Coryell County. The portion of the bypass that extends into Lampasas County will fall within the jurisdiction of TxDOT’s Brownwood District.

The Copperas Cove City Council last week approved a resolution to support submitting an application for pass-through financing. The council’s vote, Copperas Cove City Manager Andrea Gardner said, indicates local government support for a traffic relief route and should expedite the process of obtaining construction funds.

“It’s become very clear that’s the best way to move this project forward,” Ms. Gardner said.

By pursuing pass-through financing, Copperas Cove will issue bonds — most likely for 20 years, Ms. Gardner said — to generate the funds needed for the $55 million U.S. 190 bypass. City officials expect to receive a reimbursement of $42 million from the Category 3 funds tentatively reserved for KTMPO.

An approved application for pass-through financing, Roberts said, will guarantee acceptance of $42 million in state funds for KTMPO.

In addition, Category 12 reimbursement — possibly as much as $8 million — may reduce Copperas Cove’s tax burden, said Ms. Gardner. The amount of Category 12 funds available for the new highway route will depend on the reliever route’s traffic count, the city manager said, noting that the estimate of $8 million may change.

Although construction on the U.S. 190 bypass likely will not begin for a few years, the route has been set, Roberts said. Lampasas and Coryell counties will not have to purchase additional rights of way, the TxDOT spokesman added.

The bypass will be constructed as a two-lane road, Roberts said, but ultimately it will be expanded into a four-lane highway. The average daily traffic count will determine when widening of the bypass will begin, he said.

Overpasses will be built at FM 2657, as well as at FM 3046 and FM 116 in Copperas Cove.