WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — On Friday, officials held a groundbreaking event for Segment 2 of the Samsung Highway in Williamson County.

“The roadway project will connect FM 3349 to CR 404 by constructing a four-lane road that will reduce curves on CR 404 and increase safety and mobility,” county officials said.

The Samsung Highway, which is being built in segments, should be fully completed by late 2024. Segment 1, which will connect CR 404 to FM 973, is expected to be completed in fall 2023, according to the county.

“The construction cost for Segment 2 is approximately $5.13 million and is funded by the 2019 voter-approved Williamson County Road Bond Program,” Russ Boles, Williamson County Precinct 4 Commissioner said.

Boles, Taylor Mayor Brandt Rydell, U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions and Representative Caroline Harris were in attendance at the event.

This is just one of dozens of road projects happening in the county. Boles said dozens of road projects are taking place to update the county’s roads to make them better suited to the influx of cars and construction trucks in the area.

“There’s 50 active road projects in the county. Our county roads weren’t designed period and they definitely weren’t designed for the F250s, or the amount of gravel trucks that we see today,” Boles.

Some of these projects required eminent domain requests from the county. From January 2022 to June 2023, the county made 58 of those requests.

Boles said making those requests can be a difficult decision to make.

“It is the worst part of the job of being county commissioner. You know, rarely do we actually make it to an eminent domain hearing, but it’s a tool that the state legislature has given governments to do. And the fact is, you know, two ends of a road have to meet,” Boles said.