TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — A road expansion project in southwest Taylor is happening alongside the construction of Samsung’s semiconductor plant. The influx of big trucks, road noise and the closure of County Road 404, which connects one end of town to the other, has raised concerns for neighbors.

In August, Williamson County commissioners approved giving up the possession and use rights to the portion of CR 404 passing through the Samsung site, which is a majority of the road.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Russ Boles explained once the rights of a road are given up by the county, ownership falls to whoever owns the land. In this case it’s Samsung.

Boles said he’s not certain if the road will eventually reopen to thru traffic, but the first phase of the county’s Southeast Loop will help restore the east-to-west connection CR 404 once provided.

Eventually, the new road will connect State Highway 130, FM 3349 and U.S. Highway 79. The first part of the project will connect the latter two roads and is expected to be done by the summer of 2023. The second phase should be finished in 2024.

“It is going to be wider, it’s going to be better built, it’ll have a median in the middle. So it’ll be safer all the way around,” said Boles.

Road construction often comes with growing pains, and neighbors that live along CR 404 said they are currently enduring that.

A neighbor who asked to keep her name hidden said she’s lived in the area for 34 years, and the noise and increased traffic is a nuisance.

“The construction’s been like a nightmare. I’m having to leave 15 or 20 minutes earlier than before just so I can get through all this truck traffic,” she said.

She said she and several neighbors have considered moving in anticipation of more developments that could pop up around Samsung’s plant. However, the rising costs of homes in the area has put her in a stalemate.

“You can’t really afford to move anywhere else,” she said. “So it’s like if you sell and you move where are you gonna go?”

Samsung gave the following statement related to the ongoing construction on and around CR 404:

“Samsung has had regular contact with neighbors adjacent to our property since the beginning of the year. We want to keep them apprised of items of importance to them, like roads. Residents will always have access to their driveways while CR 404 is being expanded.”

Samsung statement