KILLEEN, Texas — Goodnight Ranch subdivision residents said the city council promised a new road to ease traffic congestion in their neighborhood. Most mornings, it takes about 20 minutes just to leave the neighborhood.
Mohawk Road was originally supposed to be built on the subdivision's south side to help with traffic.
Old planning maps from 2010 show the road was originally in city plans. When KCEN Channel 6's Andrew Moore asked city officials about it, they said they didn't know about it.
"I'm not aware of a promise that was made on that part, this has gone on for several years," a city official said.
Steve Shepherd, a developer for Reeces Creek, said at last week's council meeting he planned the road with former council members.
"We worked with the city for a whole year with the city, which none of those people are here now, to try and find some ways to build Mohawk," Shepherd said.
The city did make plans to pay for a large version of Mohawk Road, but it didn't have the funds for the project.
Goodnight Ranch's spokesperson Hillary Shine said the city failed to fund the project in the past.
"In 2010, Mohawk Drive was to be constructed through an agreement between the developer and the city," Shine said. "The city was unable to identify funding for its contribution to over sizing, so the road was not constructed."
The city is working to fix the problem.
"The city now has identified funding to contribute toward the over sizing of Mohawk," Shine said.
City manager Ron Olson told the council on Oct. 16 it should only approve more houses if they intend to pay for Mohawk.
"If you can't get to the point of saying 'we're going to do the road,' then don't do the zoning, because we need that road," Olson said.
The council approved the zoning, and the new homes, in a four-to-three vote.
Now, the developer needs to send the city a statement of impact for the new property area.
After that, they'll negotiate the price of the road.